Phantasmic Forge
by EiriFllyn
Summary: Mighty artifacts of legend have returned to modern times. With her power, she forges myth into reality. They are the crystallizations of great heroes' achievements, Noble Phantasms of incredible power. For the sake of reaching the Everdistant Utopia, Taylor Hebert walks the arduous path of becoming a true Hero, a righteous King, and a symbol of the people's hope.
1. Everdistant 1-1

" _The sword slashes the enemy, but the sheath protects you. As long as you have the sheath on you, you will spill no blood and take no wounds. You should truly value the sheath, not the sword."_

 **Everdistant 1.1**

The magic circle and summoned forge that lit my room in orange-red began to fade away. The pale glow covering my latest creation kept the room illuminated in a soft azure haze.

The artifact floated downwards gently like a feather. But this was no feather—this was the product of three months of painstaking work, a beautiful and noble craft of metallic gold, silver, and blue.

I reached for it. My hand hovered over it hesitatingly, as if afraid of dirtying this priceless treasure.

And I _was_ afraid, in all honesty. What if it didn't work? What if it didn't accept me as its owner?

This was so much _more_ than anything else I'd tried to make. It was more complicated, more exhausting, more demanding than any of the trinkets I'd made before—not that they were really trinkets—just that this artifact was so far beyond them they seemed like trinkets by comparison.

This was my _magnum opus_. It would make or break my yet to begin hero career.

In the legends, it was said that the sword chose the king. This wasn't the sword, but didn't the sheathe count as part of the set? If it didn't work for me, then I'd have wasted three months for nothing.

Never mind. I had to believe I was worthy. That my _power_ wouldn't let me forge an item that wouldn't work for me.

I grasped it firmly in my hand.

I heard a chorus of song whispering in my ears. It wasn't any language I'd ever heard of, but somehow I understood it. The image of fairies dancing around a pure lake and lush forest came to mind. Melodious and uplifting, it sent waves of tranquility and peace throughout my body.

— _Avalon: The Everdistant Utopia_

My tense muscles, palpitating heartbeat, and tight throat—all of it relaxed in an instant.

I felt like my worries literally melted away. I couldn't remember ever feeling so content in my life, at least not after mom died. All the bullying and hurt from Emma's betrayal seemed so insignificant now. So far away—like they belonged to another world altogether.

 _I blinked my eyes, looking around confused. What was I doing? How did I get here, to this meadow in clear daylight when it was supposed to be night outside?_

" _Try pulling out this sword."_

 _I turned abruptly to the voice. It was a woman, a breathtakingly beautiful blonde woman in shining steel armour, who held an air of nobility, a presence that made me feel small standing before her even though I was the taller one._

 _She was gesturing to a sword that was stuck into a rectangular patch of elevated smooth stone conspicuously sticking out from the uniform grass around us._

" _Hunh?" I let out stupidly before I could stop myself._

" _This sword. Try pulling it out," she said._

 _Her voice held an aura of command I found hard to resist. I couldn't seem to think straight, barely questioning why I was doing it even as my hand found the handle of the ornate sword._

 _I pulled. It didn't budge. I pulled harder. Nothing at all. I tried pulling with both hands. Still nothing._

" _Tell me child, if you were a king, how would you rule? With honour and justice? With strength and power? With majesty and glory?" the woman asked._

 _I paused in my efforts to pull the sword to think about the question._

 _If I were a king…_

 _I thought about all the unfair treatment I'd gotten at school. I was bullied by the trio with almost constant attacks and insults, stolen assignments, and even that one horrible "prank" that sent me to the hospital and triggered my powers._

 _Nobody else seemed to care. Not the students, not the teachers, not the principal._

 _I wanted justice. For the trio to pay for their crimes, and for me and any other students being bullied to be free to properly pursue an education like my mom wanted for me._

 _I thought about all the gangs and broken people in Brockton Bay. The city was a dump, if I was brutally honest. People were out of work and turning to drugs, girls were being forced into sex slavery, and every day had a new headline about some gang fight or other._

 _There weren't enough heroes on the streets to stop the crimes._

 _I wanted power. To fight the villains and stop crime. Make Brockton Bay a safe place again and get rid of all the gangs._

 _I thought about my dad and the way he seemed to lose all life after mom died. When was the last time he smiled? When was the last time I'd had a proper conversation with him?_

 _It was partially my own fault, I knew, but I didn't know what to do._

 _I wanted glory. Not personal glory to brag about, but to show my dad what I could do, what I would achieve with my powers. I wanted to bring the life back into him, and show him how things could change and be better. A future to look forward to._

" _If I were king…then I would rule with justice, power,_ and _glory! I would uphold justice for all no matter how insignificant or small, I would protect my people with my power, and I would bring glory to the downtrodden so that they can live with hope again!"_

" _If that shall be your path of kingship, then focus that feeling, imagine your rule, and take hold of that dream with your own two hands! Pull with the full might of your resolve!"_

 _I gritted my teeth and focused hard on what I wanted. I imagined myself standing triumphantly in resplendent armour, over my rescued victims and captured villains, declaring the beginning of a new era of prosperity in Brockton Bay before a crowd of adulating citizens._

 _I gathered all of my will and every ounce of strength in every muscle of my entire body and_ pulled _!_

 _The sword shifted with a creak, moving excruciatingly slowly upwards little by little…_

… _to be an inch higher than before and stopped._

 _I gasped and hit the ground on my knees with exhaustion, barely holding myself upright by the handle of the sword._

" _Not yet…"_

 _I kept panting as the woman whispered to herself, feeling a sense of disappointment and shame. I wasn't good enough after all. How stupid of me to think I was worthy of being a king._

" _Whoso pulleth out this sword from this stone, is right wise King born of all England. Though I pulled it forth, I never did unlock its full potential, for I was not the perfect king. When it shattered in my hands as I betrayed my honor upon the field of battle, I thought never to see it whole again. If it has come to you, and moved even slightly for your hands, then mayhap it shall find a true wielder once more in time," she said, patting my head._

 _I turned to her with wide eyes._

" _You're King Arthur?!"_

 _She gave me a mysterious smile in return._

" _Once upon a time, a wise Magician asked me if I preferred the sword or the sheath. I foolishly said the sword then, and in my carelessness lost the much more valuable sheath. 'Twas an error that allowed for my eventual defeat. You, however, have made the correct choice."_

The field of meadow evaporated away.

I found myself in my room again, holding the sheath of legend.

" _ **Go on, I give thee my blessings, young squire. Henceforth, thou art the true owner of Avalon.**_ _"_ Her voice reverberated in my head.

I gulped and stared in shock as the sheath dissipated into millions of golden motes, basking the whole room in a magnificent holy aura. The motes swirled around me like a miniature cyclone before rushing into my body.

" _When the time is right, return to draw forth the Sword in the Stone, only then shall you be able to forge it anew."_

I felt an intense warmth suffusing every limb, as if discovering a profound fortitude and confidence invigorating me from within.

I did it. I was finally _ready_ to be a hero.


	2. Everdistant 1-2

" _So…this is how it ends? My knights—fallen, my kingdom—in ruins, my people—revolting…is it any wonder that Caliburn broke in my hands? I…was never worthy to be king after all…"_

 _She knelt on one knee, bent over her blade planted in the ground, her face held down with a rueful look, blonde locks of hair limply scattered down._

" _Your Majesty, you are the greatest king Britain has ever had! Please don't say such things."_

 _A knight stood beside her, tired but stalwart, holding his hand to a wound in his side._

" _I never understood them, did I? In my determination to be the perfect king, I had forgotten to be human."_

 _She lifted her head and gazed upon the bloody field of corpses, littered with countless knights—_ her _knights_ — _who died for her mistakes, not in valiant honor fighting against invaders, but against the very citizens they swore to protect, who had rebelled against her rule._

" _We could not have asked for any better, my liege. I do not for a moment regret my oath to you, and neither would my fellow knights who fought for you this day. The words of traitors mean nothing! It was they who did not understand the burden of your rule!"_

 _He had always been one of her most steadfast followers. But his kind words could never change what happened today. Here at Camlann, there were no broken rubbles to be seen, but as sure as the turning of the day, here was the final grave of her fair Camelot._

" _Sir Bedivere, please...take Excalibur and throw it in yonder lake…I…am not long for this world…"_

" _Y-your Majesty! It cannot be…!"_

" _I'm sorry, Merlin…you were right…what a fool I was…to have valued the sword over the sheath…the everdistant utopia…I couldn't reach it…"_

 _With her whispers fluttering in the wind, she let go of the sword of promised victory and closed her eyes in bitter defeat._

" _Your Majesty, I—I—to throw away holy Excalibur…this…!"_

 **Everdistant 1.2**

I woke up with a startled gasp. Blankly, I touched my fingers to my cheeks, and felt the tears sliding down.

That tragic scene replayed again and again in my mind.

I wanted to rail and shout at the sheer unfairness of it all. I wanted to say to King Arthur, " _You're a hero that millions, or even billions of people still admire millennia after your rule! You were a great king, the_ best _king!"_

How could she blame herself for the kingdom's destruction? Who could even imagine doing better than her? Her rule was the golden age that every other golden age had to measure up against.

I flipped the covers and got out of bed. The pale light of daybreak was streaking through my window.

In a flurry of movement, I was dressed and went to the bathroom for my morning routine.

Taking a towel I quickly began to wash the tears off my face.

As I wiped myself dry, I got a good look at myself in the mirror and froze.

I wasn't wearing my glasses.

I wasn't wearing my glasses— _and I could see perfectly fine_!

But it wasn't just that, no, as I realized upon roaming over the crystal clear visage that stared back at me.

I was _beautiful_.

I had never thought of myself that way before. I was just a bit too skinny, too lanky, my skin too coarse, and my mouth a little too wide. Lots of small things that added up. I couldn't compare at all to Emma, who did part-time modelling.

But _now_ I looked almost like a different person.

My features had rounded out, my skin was almost literally radiant without any blemishes whatsoever, and even my mouth didn't look so out of proportion anymore.

It had to be terribly arrogant of me, but somehow in that moment, I really thought— _I looked like a supermodel_.

Dumbfounded, I inched closer to the mirror trying to figure out what was wrong with me.

It was with a lot of giddiness and a bit of panic that I realized, I actually looked like this now. _Avalon_ must have healed me to the literal peak of human health.

I understood somewhat conceptually that I was making an item of immense healing ability when I had started working on Avalon.

My power gives me a sort of description of what the artifact I forged would be able to do when I try to make it. It was pretty vague and I had no idea what the Ranks represented. Avalon was a Rank EX noble phantasm, and it was way harder to make than the few other noble phantasms I had made.

The description said that a true owner of Avalon could heal from almost any wound or affliction near instantly, restoring the body to a state of perfect health. It could also be "activated" to form an absolute defense transferring the owner to the utopia of Avalon to avoid any attack, but I didn't know how to do that.

Only now did I understand what the first part of the description meant. My myopia? An affliction. My skin too rough? Can't have that with perfect health. It even considered my uneven features a problem that had to be fixed. I wondered if I should have felt insulted at that, but then I was too high off the fact that I was now _beautiful_.

Would—would it heal my hymen as well if I ever had sex? Oh, that would be awful, if every time I had bear the pain like a virgin. But that was a moot question anyway. When would I ever get a boyfriend? I might look beautiful now, but who would want to be with the loser nobody likes? I sighed.

Then I had another thought. Is this why King Arthur looked so perfect?

Oh my god. Did it even consider aging a disease? King Arthur had to be in her thirties or forties at least after ruling for decades, right? But she didn't look a day over twenty even at Camlann. Younger, even.

That would be pretty ridiculous, if my power just created an item that made me immortal. With the sheer number of other noble phantasms I could forge, it would make me a Trump on par with Eidolon or maybe a Tinker on Dragon's level. I decided that it wasn't likely. It couldn't be _that_ powerful.

Still excited, I rushed out to the kitchen and grabbed a sharp knife. Luckily dad wasn't up yet so he couldn't see me doing this.

I rolled up my sleeves and found a spot higher on my arm that it couldn't be easily noticed if anything happened to it.

I pressed the blade edge against the skin and sliced.

A shallow cut was formed on the skin. I blinked. It was gone.

Wait, did I just imagine the cut or something? Where's the blood and pain?

I tried again, with a bit more force.

Again, I blinked and it was gone.

Okay, either I am too scared to actually cut myself or I couldn't bleed or feel pain from injuries any more.

This time I really cut down hard, leaving a deep gaping wound, and I made sure not to blink.

The wound closed up and disappeared in less than a second.

 _Wow_.

If there was any proof that I was a cape with real powers, this was it. With this, I could go around beating up villains without fear of getting hurt. Like Alexandria.

I should really test this more. Make sure I wouldn't die from overconfidence or something, now that I wasn't feeling any pain.

I lifted up my shirt at my navel and reversed my grip on the knife. Then I stabbed it in.

"Ouf!" There was a slight prickle of pain, which was now sort of buzzing continuously as I had left the knife in there. I continued pushing the knife in with some effort, as it was too blunt to stab cleanly, so I could see if my internal organs would heal as well.

It was only a little painful, I could probably ignore it and be fine. I walked around a bit to see if the injury would bother me. I felt fine. Probably good enough to just keep going if it happened in a fight.

I pulled the knife back out and examined the wound. I barely had a chance to see it before it also rapidly shrunk and closed.

I thought maybe I should test lethal injuries next. Weak points like the throat and heart.

But that was probably going too far. Best not to get that kind of wound at all, just in case.

As I prepared to put the knife away, I froze again.

If I couldn't bleed or feel pain anymore, wouldn't that easily out me as a cape if I got hurt?

Could I turn it off somehow? If I couldn't bleed, I couldn't even do blood testing anymore at annual physical checkups like a normal person. And I might want to forge Noble Phantasms that need blood for some reason or other in the future.

I pulled the knife back and prepared to cut myself again. This time, I would focus on _not_ healing.

Just as I thought that, I felt a sudden sense of loss. I began to be aware of minute sensations in my body reflecting miniscule build-up of tiredness and muscle sores. They were so small as to be imperceptible in daily life, but when I went from a continuous state of perfect health to being relatively normal again, I noticed them.

I sliced lightly on my arm and felt a piercing pain. _Urk_ —I cut too deep, that hurt!

Blood began to flow out.

I immediately _wanted_ to heal again. Then the blood filtered back into the wound and it healed perfectly again. The minute signs of fatigue buildup disappeared.

I went back to the bathroom and finished my morning routine before coming back down to the kitchen to make breakfast. On the dining table I saw a note.

 _Got some business to take care of at the union, so I went in early. Have a good day, and stay safe._

— _Love, Dad_

Oh, he already left. I must have been in a deeper slumber than I thought with that dream.

I went back to my room and prepared to head for school.

At my nightstand my Dreamcatcher Weave sat on the space beside my lamp. It was the first thing I had made after getting out of the psych ward, and it worked very well to stop my nightmares. I gave one to dad as well, but he'd assumed it was just a simple decoration.

That was one of the generic E-Rank magical items I could create an unlimited number of copies for, unlike the powerful unique Noble Phantasms which I could only make once each.

I opened the drawer to reveal a number of other items. There was a set of four rings, each for one of the four classical elements, in red, blue, green, and yellow. These were Rings of Elemental Protection, and I slid each one onto a toe. They would look beautiful on my fingers but so many would be too conspicuous.

Next was a Bracelet of Healing. Well that one I'd been wearing underneath my sleeves every day but I didn't actually need it anymore now that I had Avalon. It sped up healing but was fairly weak, turning the process from days or weeks to hours. I only kept the Rings because I wasn't sure if it I could still be burned with a hot enough fire, drowned, suffocated, or be directly transmuted into some other material by a cape power. These could protect against those conceptual uses of the elements – to an extent. I didn't know exactly how they protected me, but I once tried to stop breathing while wearing the Ring of Air Protection, and I still felt fine after 5 minutes. I was too scared to try drowning myself. I mean, even if it did work, what if the water in my lungs didn't come out when the Ring eventually ran out of power?

It would be safer to just sleep with them on but they felt a bit uncomfortable and I judged it not worth the minuscule chance of being attacked in my sleep to do it.

My Arrow Protection Amulet on the other hand, I did go to sleep with. Even with Avalon, it might be possible for me to die from a headshot, so that had to stay.

Finally, I picked up an Evil-Warding Token, which was just a round wooden thing with a runic sigil on it. I honestly didn't know what this was supposed to do, and my power was very unhelpful. Alerts the user to, removes, and wards off evil spirits and other negative influences. Great. Did that mean evil spirits and ghosts actually existed? I supposed that negative influence might mean Master powers but I had no way of testing that.

There were curse items I could theoretically create as well which I could use to test it, but I had never managed to actually forge them. I didn't have the right mindset for them. To forge an item, I had to really want it, and I just couldn't bring myself to want a curse item enough. Just the feeling of drawing their power from the legends felt revolting. Even for the trio…I thought I was better than them. I wouldn't sink low enough to curse them with a parahuman power.

I shoved the token into my pocket and headed out.

Besides these trinkets, I had also managed to make a magic wand, magic staff, and magic ritual dagger. I was really excited when making them as my power told me they were magical foci for casting spells. Unfortunately…either my power was trolling me or I had to actually know how to cast magic before I could use them, because waving them around did absolutely nothing.

There was my cape outfit as well, but I wouldn't need that today.

It was only school, so I shouldn't really need any of these things, but better safe than sorry.


	3. Everdistant 1-3

**Everdistant 1.3**

I walked through the halls full of confidence and energy. I stopped slinking and hiding away months ago, but I still consciously avoided my most frequent bullies. Today I didn't care to do even that anymore.

Today, everywhere I passed people whispered and stared. Some people still just ignored me or rapidly moved along but many others took note, whether in real surprise or in jest.

"Did she get plastic surgery over the weekend?" One voice "whispered" loudly as I moved past a gaggle of girls. She was one of the girls that I classified as one of the Trio's cronies, a lieutenant of sorts that had her own group. I think her name was Julia.

"Doesn't that take time to heal though?" Another girl responded obliviously. "I don't think it works over a weekend."

"Idiot! Don't bother talking anymore." The first girl hissed back.

"What? Why am I the idiot? It's probably just makeup and contacts."

"Do you _want_ the guys to think we're only pretty because of _makeup_ and that loser is some kind of modern Cinderella?"

I almost snorted. I was no Cinderella. I didn't need a prince to save me from my torment. Without dealing with them, I continued on my way.

Some boys that saw me just stopped walking as if in stupor.

I glanced over at one, and found his mouth slightly open. He blinked and snapped out of it before looking away and wiping the drool from his mouth.

The entire day, I kept getting looks from all the students and even the teachers. I thoroughly enjoyed Madison's shocked face when I went to Mr. Gladly's class. Nobody dared to talk to me or ask me anything directly, however.

I probably should have been concerned about being outed as a parahuman by changing so drastically, but I decided that it was fine. The heroes of legend never hid their faces, so why should I, especially when I didn't actually have anything that could hide my new looks? There was King Arthur's dagger, which might work because it could reduce the user's presence, but I couldn't carry that in school. If people wanted to spread rumors I had plastic surgery, that was just fine.

Now that I had Avalon, I felt invincible. Why not enjoy being beautiful for once?

— _Synchronization 54%_

O O O

Of course my peace wouldn't last. Just as the day seemed to be over and I reached my locker to put my things away, I was cornered by Emma, Madison, Sophia, and half a dozen other girls.

"Oh look, it's Taylor!" Emma said in a sickly sweet voice.

"What a desperate loser. Ugliest girl in the grade, she can't even stand her own face," said Julia.

"So sick of herself, she had to get plastic surgery," said Sophia.

"Such a slut. No boy would like her, so she must be hoping to seduce the shallow ones," said Madison.

"Never talks to anybody. Maybe she knows she sounds like a retard and keeps her mouth shut."

"No, she's not that smart."

"If I were her, I'd just kill myself."

"At least then she could save her poor dad the trouble. Wonder how much her face job cost?" Emma gave me a piteous look.

It was a favourite tactic of theirs to pretend to be talking to each other. It didn't even matter what the insults were, it often didn't make sense or was contradictory. One would say I was a slut, another would say that no boy would touch me.

This time however, I could hear the jealousy in their voice and the envy in their eyes. I had a suspicion that some of them might go looking for plastic surgery themselves in the near future.

I didn't feel any of the shame and anger I usually did. After forging Avalon and meeting the spirit of King Arthur, their insults and attacks seemed meaninglessly petty. A legendary hero believed that I might be worthy of drawing the Sword in the Stone one day, what would these girls ever amount to in their lives?

But I could not simply ignore them either. I didn't forge Avalon to escape from my troubles, but to reach for a dream—I had to obtain justice with my own efforts.

"It cost me nothing, Emma," I said.

"Hm, what was that? Did she just say something? Did you, Taylor?" Emma asked.

"Something about how much her plastic surgery cost? 10 grand?" Another girl added.

"Are you jealous, Emma? I've always been beautiful." Maybe not on the outside, but definitely on the inside. "I just never felt the need to flaunt it, unlike you. What will you do when you grow older and your agency tells you that you just don't have the right figure? A pretty face can only take you so far in modelling."

"What?" Emma's face turned angry.

"Like _you_ would know anything about modelling," said Sophia.

"I don't need to know about modelling to know that your weak and childish insults aren't going to help you with any career after school," I said.

Now it was Sophia's turn to be angry. "Did you just call me _weak_ , Hebert?"

"Yes, I did. You, Emma, Madison, all of you, nothing more than weak little children."

"Finally growing a spine, Hebert?" Sophia asked with a sneer. "You think some bold words and taking your glasses off makes you strong?"

"I _know_ I'm strong, unlike the lot of you that needs to gang up and surround me nine to one. Why don't you show me how strong you are, Sophia? Come and give me your best shot."

"Trying to goad us into a fight so you can get us in trouble? We're not stupid, Taylor. Besides, you really think Principal Blackwell will believe you over all of us?" Emma said after her eyes darted to Sophia, who was fuming.

"Cowering behind your lies and the school staff? That's what you always do, isn't it, Emma? You're too weak to do anything yourself." I didn't know why they seemed to be fixated on the word "weak", but every time I said it I could notice the twitch on both Sophia and Emma's faces.

"I'm _not_ weak! I'm not the one who cried herself to sleep for a week." Emma said loudly, referencing the time I was grieving over my mother's death. I might've have felt deeply hurt and betrayed when Emma exposed such a private and vulnerable moment in front of all these girls if I hadn't just seen the tragedy of Camlann in my dreams. Being human was a virtue, and grieving was a part of that. There was no reason to be ashamed of it.

"Shut up, Hebert! You're just a prey pretending to be strong. We're the real predators here!"

I almost lost my mocking look and replaced it with the "I just saw a weirdo" look. What in the world was Sophia on about? She thought she was a predator, like some kind of animal?

In the corner of my eyes I saw Ms. Knott coming around the corner. Every time the girls had done anything to me, there was never enough evidence. The students called me a psycho, and there were no witnesses supporting me. That was how the trio got away with the locker prank. Finally, I had stalled long enough for a teacher to pass by, and it was Ms. Knott, who I liked the most among my teachers. If it were Mr. Gladly, he might have just pretended he didn't see, but Ms. Knott shouldn't let it go if she sees something happening right in front of her. Over the past few months my grades had been improving and my relationship with Ms. Knott was better than ever.

"A predator Sophia? You think yourself a wolf among sheep?" I walked up to Sophia and got up right in her face. "What a mighty predator you are. Your prey's all alone right in front of you, you're surrounded by your pack, and you're still paralyzed by fear."

Suddenly I felt my Evil-Warding Token start vibrating in my pocket. That was strange, was there an evil spirit nearby? It had never reacted to anything before. After I made it there'd been a few times when Sophia had shoved me or other girls had hit me with spitballs, but there hadn't been any reaction, so I knew the Token didn't warn me against all hostile intent.

Madison glanced back and noticed Ms. Knott. "Sophia!" She whispered forcefully.

But Sophia didn't hear her. Because I talked over Madison with the final nail in the coffin.

"I think y _ou're_ the prey pretending to be strong."

"Shut the fuck up!" She snarled and swung a fist at me. The Token's vibration grew stronger. Was Sophia being possessed by—

"Uoo—"

It landed on my face with a crunch and my head turned from the force of it. I only felt a slight prickling sensation and immediately disabled Avalon, then I flowed together with the punch and was "knocked" away, slamming into a locker with the top of my head.

I crumpled against the locker door and fell down, unmoving, arms sprawled out in awkward positions, eyes closed. The Evil-Warding Token stopped moving as well. I would have to try and investigate that later.

"Tch. Down in one hit, Hebert? Shows how weak you are," I heard Sophia say.

"What is going on here?!" Ms. Knott's voice loudly interrupted amidst a rush of footsteps. "All of you stay right where you are!"

The footsteps got closer to me.

"Taylor, Taylor, are you alright?" Ms. Knott said asked from right next to me. I felt her hands shifting me but continued to play possum.

After I didn't respond, Ms. Knott left me.

"Ms. Knott, she started it first! We were only—"

"Be quiet! I know exactly what I saw and what I heard! You are all in big trouble, especially you, Ms. Hess." Ms. Knott interrupted them.

After a few seconds, I hear the nearby intercom machine beep.

"Infirmary, I need medical support! There's an unconscious student in the hall with a head injury."

" _Understood, on our way. Do not move the injured student or you may worsen her injury. Please wait."_

Then afterwards, there was another beep.

"Principal Blackwell? This is Ms. Knott. There's been a violent incident in the hallways leading to an injured and unconscious student. Could you please come over? I've already called the infirmary."

"Another v _iolent incident? I hope there weren't any knives involved this time. I'll be there right away."_

Mission accomplished.

O O O

When I got home it was with no small amount of satisfaction. All of the girls that confronted me in the hall got suspended for a day, Sophia getting three days and getting kicked off the track team. Ms. Knott had informed me after I "woke up" in the infirmary, and she apologized for not being able to help me sooner.

It seemed so simple now, that I could hardly wrap my head around why I didn't just do this before. It should have been easy to collect some kind of evidence against the trio by setting them up, but I just gave up after reporting it a couple of times without any results.

That was the old Taylor, always hiding and blaming everyone else for her problems. Sure the staff should have caught on faster, or other students should have come forth, but blaming them was pointless.

I had to be the change I wanted to see in the world.

The Knights of the Round Table didn't gather for no reason amidst a time of lawlessness to a King that sat on a fat throne while ordering them to go fight. They gathered to a shining beacon of chivalry and virtue, a King who was herself the greatest knight in the land!

— _Synchronization 59%_

But enough daydreaming, I had things left to do to get ready for my first outing as a hero tonight. Dad still wasn't home yet so I just went about my business.

I changed into bulkier and looser clothes, then picked up a nondescript sling from the pile of things I'd been hiding in the basement. I couldn't hide all this forever, but I wanted to wait until I had an achievement under my belt before coming clean with dad. Otherwise he'd never let me go on patrols. I was a Tinker after all, so he'd probably tell me to join the Wards and Tinker for them instead of going out to fight myself.

I shuddered at the thought. I could stomach giving away the generic magic items, but a Noble Phantasm? I poured so much of my heart and soul into making them—and this wasn't just a metaphor as I had to use my emotions and feelings to fuel the ritual that drew them out of myth—it would feel like losing a part of myself. Besides, how would I know if anybody was even _worthy_ of the legendary artifacts? I could swear that each one of them had a life of their own. Not just anybody could make use of them, and I feared that the wrong person would break under their weight, or become changed into something else.

This sling didn't look like much, but that was part of its legend. It was the only Noble Phantasm I dared to carry in civilian attire, and in fact I made it because it could _only_ be used while not wearing armor or carrying other weapons. The various restrictions on it made it far easier to make compared to its miraculous power, letting me fight when I was at my most vulnerable and unarmed.

But its power came at a cost. As my hand touched it, I felt the gnawing sense of judgement it always lorded over me. I knew it didn't think I was worthy enough, and the _demand_ for me to change was a palpable pressure on my mind. For that reason, I didn't take it with me to school. I had enough problems with other people belittling me, I didn't need an object to do it too.

After leaving a note for my dad saying that I was going out for a run, I went out into the city to buy a disposable phone.

An hour later I was heading back with a brand new phone in my pocket. The whole trip was a bit uncomfortable. I was unused to the stares, even after what happened in school today. It was the overt cat calls and the creepy old men that bugged me the most.

Halfway through the trip my bus came to a stop.

"You shouldn't be driving our buses, nigger!" A man's voice called in as the bus door opened. I looked over and saw three white guys storm in, their shirts with E88 and swastika symbols etched or painted on. They went up to the African American driver and grabbed him roughly before dragging him out off the bus.

What were E88 members doing attacking a public bus in broad daylight in the middle of a crowded street? Sure it was in the suburbs but there were plenty of people around that I could see out the windows. Some of which had froze after looking at something outside the bus and then started running away. They could at least call the police, I thought with some anger. Then I noticed a bare-chested man in a metal mask. Hookwolf, blood thirsty murderer and a top lieutenant in E88. One of the strongest capes in Brockton Bay, who had escaped going to the birdcage twice.

— _Synchronization 14%_


	4. Everdistant 1-4

Disclaimer: Any depictions of religion, religious figures or artifacts here are not meant as a statement of my beliefs or theological teaching. I do not warrant to show them to any degree of accuracy. I am not even remotely well qualified for something like that, and if I made any errors or gross misrepresentations, please don't hate me. I will endeavour to make corrections where the plot allows, but where I cannot, please remember that it's just a fictional story with no religious significance.

 **Everdistant 1.4**

"Listen here, all you fucking japs and chinks need to get the hell off too!" One of them shouted, gesturing with a gun. The other two members started grabbing other minorities and dragging them away too.

"This is a public bus man, what's wrong with you people? Who's going to drive us now?" A passenger in a nice looking dress shirt asked. He was white and the E88 members had skipped past him.

"You a Jew? Good to know. Off you go," the one at the front leveled his gun at the guy who spoke up.

This was crazy. When did Empire 88 members become so _bold_?

Half the passengers were forced off in short order and the remainder cowered in their seats. We were left on the bus while the E88 guys went back out.

My hands clenched into fists as I watched them exit. Out the window I saw a mob of E88 members surrounding the people who'd been forced off, while the guy that was leading on the bus got pats on the back and cheers. He was handed a metal bat by his peers and they gestured towards the minority members huddled together on the ground. This…was some kind of sick initiation ceremony.

— _Synchronization: 20%_

I could take them. All of them, even. There were only about twenty, I estimated. I had nothing to fear from gunshots with my Arrow Protection Amulet, and any bullets that did get through Avalon would heal. The only thing that held me back was my lack of a cape costume. If I went out there my secret identity would be exposed before I even had one.

The women and children were separated from the men. The E88 members formed a ring and pushed one shivering man forward. The initiate was also nudged forward. His would-be opponent was also handed a metal bat.

"Muller, show your strength as a true warrior of the Aryan race!" Hookwolf's voice rang out.

He stepped forward as if overseeing the duel.

I was shaking in my seat. How could I just stand by like everyone else when I had the power to change things?

The beating began. The shivering man stood no chance as the initiate pummeled him into the ground.

The raucous mob clapped and fisted to the sky with every blow. Bystanders outside and inside the bus just watched in morbid fascination.

"Raa!" The initiate yelled a victory cry and raised his hand forward as if saluting Hitler.

"Heil! Heil!" Other members returned the salute.

Hookwolf walked forward and grabbed the unconscious man by the throat, carrying him to the huddling group of hostages.

"Look closely! This is why Brockton Bay belongs to the pure race!"

Hookwolf grew sharp blades out of his arms.

"No! Please, have mercy!" A woman rushed forward and grabbed Hookwolf's leg, grovelling with tears.

I stood up, burning with anger in my heart, bringing the sling out from within my baggy clothing.

"Girl, are you mad? What are you doing?" A passenger called out to me.

— _Synchronization 29%_

"I gave him a chance to prove his worth, and he couldn't land a single blow! Utter trash!" Hookwolf kicked the woman off his leg and sent her flying back. She immediately rushed back and grabbed his leg again.

What was my cape identity compared to the life of an innocent person? I couldn't allow this to go on.

They wanted a duel to prove who was the superior? A champion to battle to decide who this city belonged to?

Then so be it. I would allow no more to lose heart on account of these uncivilized beasts.

— _Synchronization 36%_

Hookwolf kicked and slashed at the woman, sending her flying again. This time she struggled helplessly, but didn't get back up.

I stepped off the bus and took out a smooth pebble from my pocket.

"Halt!" I yelled.

Hookwolf paused and turned to at me, as did the rest of the E88, and all the people watching on the sidelines.

"Girl, get back on the bus! A little flower like you should just sit back and watch the men take out the trash!" A random E88 called out after a couple of whistles from the mob.

"Hookwolf, you think yourself powerful, superior? A warrior? You think you and Kaiser's little empire own Brockton Bay? Then let me show you how wrong you are."

He tilted his head. Then he laughed uproariously. His laughed was accompanied by a round of hoots and jeers from his men.

"Have you ever been in a fight your whole life, little doll?" He snorted.

"I am more than capable of putting down an uncultured beast like you. I will strike you down this day and let the whole world know that racists and Philistines have no place in this city!"

— _Synchronization 44%_

"She must be a fucking Jew! Calling us Philistines? What a waste of a pretty face." Another random E88 member commented.

"Do you think I'm a dog, that you can fight me with stones?" Hookwolf threw away the broken man, taking a couple of steps towards me as he grew out more blades and sharp metal protrusions from his chest and arms.

I walked forward unflinchingly to meet him twenty meters away. My face was a rictus of fury.

— _ **Synchronization 53%**_

Unbidden, familiar words came to my mouth as my hands tightened around the sling and its harness.

"You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I will smite you and take your head! This very day I will give the carcasses of the Empire 88 to the birds of the air and wild animals of the earth, that all the earth may know there is a God in Brockton Bay! All this assembly shall know the Lord saves not with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give all of you into our hands! [1]" My furious voice bellowed across the streets, echoing unnaturally in the open air. The breeze stilled and all other sounds fell silent.

Clouds covered the sun, and the streets turned dark under their shadow.

— _ **Synchronization 66%**_

Hookwolf rushed towards me with a roar.

I ran forth to meet his charge, set the sling, and fired.

The world seemed to slow to a crawl. Like all the times I slew the lions and bears that came after the lambs in my flock, my aim was true, guided by the will of the Almighty.

The stone flew like judgement straight into Hookwolf's metal mask, shattering it into pieces to reveal his wretched face for all to see.

Unfortunately it was an imperfect shot with an imperfect pebble, and Hookwolf shook off the hit with a stumble before exploding in a fury of swords, rushing towards me again.

No matter, I had prepared four more stones for this very happenstance. Once again I set the sling, and fired.

Only three metres away from me the pebble struck Hookwolf's exposed forehead.

His face was knocked upwards as the pebble bounced into the air. His eyes rolled back and his body collapsed to the ground.

— _ **Synchronization 82%**_

My wrathful eyes roamed over the frozen Philistine army, who all had stunned looks upon their faces. One of them broke and routed, then the rest followed his example in scant few seconds.

It was only fitting that they run, to lose their nerve so easily with the defeat of their champion. Let them break and scatter in the winds, and the living armies of God shall chase them unto the gates of Ekron.

Rays of light broke through the cloud cover to shine upon us. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows His handiwork[2]. Here was His reminder to me to complete my oath in His name.

— _ **Synchronization 91%**_

I walked towards the fallen form of the Philistine and drew the reverent eyes of the assembled faithful as His light showed the way forward.

I kicked down with my heel and broke off a long length of blade jutting out from the body. There was no handle so I wrapped the tough harness of my _qela_ around its edge. I took it into my right hand using the makeshift grip, and my hand bled upon the edge of the blade, but its sacrifice reaffirmed my holy mission this glorious day.

I raised the blade into the air and hefted the form of the fallen Philistine by his hair at my left.

" **Let all the earth know this battle was the Lord's, for this day I have won not with sword in hand, but by grace of** _ **ĕlōhîm**_ **most high and grand!** "

My voice, as if amplified with the force of a hundred angels in the sky, shook the air and the earth, and the darkness of the clouds gave way to light, just as He commanded upon the genesis of all, to bathe this land in His infinite mercy.

— _ **Synchronization 100%. Ritual of Inheritance Complete.**_

— _Phantasmic Crystallization! Rank Up:_ _ **B**_ _! Restrictions Removed:_ [Cannot be used against unarmed opponents. Cannot be used when the user is wearing armor. Cannot be used in a battle in which the user previously used any weapon which is not blunt. Can only fire a maximum of five stones in one battle.] _Ability Acquired:_ [After firing five stones in a single battle, the sling will transform into a staff until the battle is over.]

I shifted the body forward and prepared to take the head of—

"No one _is above the law of the land. Not even the Queen. The punishment for Guinevere's transgressions_ must _be death, and those who aided Sir Lancelot in her escape are all guilty of treason!" She declared with an anger uncharacteristic of her inhuman countenance._

I recoiled.

 _What was I thinking? What was I doing?! That wasn't me!_

I dropped my arm back down, letting Hookwolf's body fall back to the ground.

I was a _hero_! How could I even think about cutting off someone's head like a trophy?

And those words! I couldn't believe I said all that out loud. I sounded like a fanatic! But I wasn't even that much of a believer. I mean, I read the passage in Samuel to make the sling, but I knew my power could make other artifacts from other religions, even outside the Abrahamic faiths. That didn't do much to help my already non-existent church-going habits. Ever since mom died, dad and I never went to the church anymore.

I took a deep breath and focused on the soothing presence of Avalon inside me.

As if emerging from a drug-induced haze, my mind began to clear. The terrible rage I was in subsided.

That's right, I came out to protect those victims. I didn't do this to put the fear of God in the Empire 88.

"P-praise be to the Lord, God of Israel, for he has come to his people and redeemed them!"

"A Walī has performed a miracle of Allah! _Allahu Akbar!_ "

"Blessed virgin, a living Saint has come to save Brockton Bay!"

A chorus of voices broke me from my reverie.

Several of the former hostages had moved towards me and were prostrating themselves. The woman who had been trying to save her husband was moving most vigorously.

"Forgive me Lord, for I have sinned today! I will never doubt your grand designs again! Thank you, thank you, your holiness!"

People from the bus streamed out towards me and others who were watching from afar knelt down in prayer as well. Some were holding out crosses, others were drawing the star of David on the cement with rocks, and still others with turbans were sticking closely to the ground in deep genuflection.

Some people who were standing around looking confused, who were probably not of any Abrahamic faith, had also joined the crowd of people who were venerating me.

I began to feel queasy. _Why_ were they doing this? Wasn't it more natural to assume I was some kind of cape? Superpowers had almost eliminated any belief of people in the "supernatural", "magic", or "miracles". Churches had attendance in the all-time lows, and other than the people who worshipped Scion, or the crazies that worshipped the Endbringers, the only notable group of people that believed powers came from holy sources was Haven. But even then, everyone else thought they were nutty.

This crowd venerating me that just formed didn't make any sense!

Then it hit me. When used properly, this simple tool can put the fear of God in heathens and faithful alike. I thought it was just flavor text that my power was describing to me.

But it had to have been an actual effect of my using the sling.

Despite the presence of Avalon, my throat constricted again as I let out a hitched gasp.

It was more than just making people believe in my divine purpose. I thought back to the strange way I had been acting, as if I thought I _was_ David, fighting the Philistines, and the continuous pressure on my mind.

The very thing I feared would happen to unworthy wielders just happened to me! In that moment, I called on too much of the sling's power too soon, and the force of its legend nearly took me over. If I didn't have Avalon to counteract its influence, what would have happened to me?

I grasped at my heart, feeling it pounding like it was going to jump right out.

Finally, I heard the sirens of the police or PRT in the distance.

With hardly another look at all the rapturous people, I unwrapped the harness from the blade and ran.

I ran as fast as my legs could carry me. I felt no fatigue and sprinted like my life depended on it, passing houses, warehouses, buildings, people, parks, all of it in a blur.

I dashed madly for at least twenty minutes until I got to my house and rushed straight for my basement, shoving the sling back into the box I had kept it in.

Its presence on my mind ebbed away, and I rushed into my room and fell onto my bed, staring at the ceiling.

O O O

 _Whispers broke out among the remaining Round Table._

" _Doth the King love her so little that he would rather see her dead even now?"_

" _Lady Guinevere hath committed the most grievous of sins, to lay with one of the King's most trusted knights! Death is none too light for these traitors who spit upon His Majesty's honor and trust!" Gawain smashed down a fist onto the table in fury._

 _She locked eyes with Gawain. "And Sir Lancelot, he hath slain your brothers unarmed and most dishonorably, even Sir Gareth who loved him more than even his own kin; therefore let us shape a remedy for to revenge their deaths."_

" _I swear upon my knighthood, while I yet live I shall not rest until that recreant knight is felled upon my sword!"_

O O O

Danny sighed as he reviewed the latest damage reports from last night again. Massive fires and destruction across the docks. And threats from Lung to do more if nobody came forward with information on the Undersiders' whereabouts.

He took another sip of coffee.

"Danny, you have got to see this!" Kurt came in with a rush, the door flipping open without a knock.

"Kurt, what the—"

"Why didn't you tell us that your daughter was a _prophet_?!" Kurt shoved a phone screen towards Danny.

"What are you talking about, Kurt? Have you been drinking on the job?"

"Look at this! Look! It's like a scene right out of the Old Testament! Your daughter took down Hookwolf with a fucking sling and a stone after giving a speech like David to Goliath! It's all over PHO!" He pointed it repeatedly at the screen.

Danny's face paled. Hookwolf? His daughter just fought Hookwolf, the bloodthirsty maniac with a dozen murders to his name? What was she thinking?! She wasn't even a cape!

He looked towards the phone screen, where a crisp high resolution video was playing. He watched as Taylor denounced Hookwolf and declared that she would strike him down in the name of God and feed the corpses of the Empire 88 to birds and animals. He started sweating as Hookwolf grew swords and rushed for Taylor.

Then, his eyes widened. Two perfect shots right to the forehead and Hookwolf was down. His mouth fell open as people bowed down in prayer towards Taylor who was illuminated by a ray of light shining from the heavens. And she grabbed hold of Hookwolf, raising the blade she claimed from him high to the air, facing the crowd of new worshippers. Without her glasses on, she looked so perfect and beautiful—more beautiful than even Annette—with the holy light shining down, one could call it saint-like, even.

" _Let all the earth know this battle was the Lord's, for this day I have won not with sword in hand, but by grace of ĕlōhîm most high and grand!_ "

His coffee cup fell to the ground and shattered. His eyes remained glued to the frozen end of the video.

O O O

[C-Rank]

Hamesh Avanim Shl Qela - The sling used by David to defeat Goliath. When used properly, this simple tool can put the fear of God in heathens and faithful alike. It can unerringly hit the weak point to knock an opponent unconscious. The user must first denounce the opponent and declare their intention to fight in the name of the Lord. Cannot be used against unarmed opponents. Cannot be used when the user is wearing armor. Cannot be used in a battle in which the user previously used any weapon which is not blunt. Can only fire a maximum of five stones in one battle.

[B-Rank]

Hamesh Avanim Shl Qela - The sling used by David to defeat Goliath. When used properly, this simple tool can put the fear of God in heathens and faithful alike. It can unerringly hit the weak point to knock an opponent unconscious. The user must first denounce the opponent and declare their intention to fight in the name of the Lord. After firing five stones in a single battle, this sling will transform into a staff until the battle is over.

— _Noble Phantasms and Forged Artifacts Information Sheet Updated_

O O O

A/N: This version of Hamesh Avanim is original. I decided not to use the Fate/Grand Order version, and one closer to the original legend, since this fits better as the plot device I need it for. The biblical David never actually fired any warning shots, and picked up five smooth stones for a reason that is never expanded on. Some people say it's because Goliath had four brothers, and others say because he was just well prepared, having had many years of experience fighting lions and bears by himself using his sling, staff, and bare hands even if he wasn't a veteran of human war. The restrictions of not wearing armor or using other weapons comes from the way he specifically rejected Saul's offer to arm and armour him before the battle. Note also that the descriptions of the NPs are not necessarily exhaustive, there could be other hidden effects not described. Whether anything resembling the "taking the enemy's possessions" occurred here I will leave for speculation.

Quote References:

[1] Based on popular English translations of 1 Samuel 17:45-47, switching some words for Taylor-specific situation.

[2] Psalms 19:2. The Book of Psalms was said to be written by David.

 **The "Noble Phantasms and Forged Artifacts" Information Sheet will be added as another chapter following this one. It will be continuously updated with the story.**

 **Also, I would like to thank The Literary Lord for making a TVTropes page for Phantasmic Forge. I have written a bonus interlude to commemorate the occasion, which will be the next chapter (after the Information Sheet).**


	5. Noble Phantasms and Forged Artifacts

A/N: This only includes what has been revealed in-story, not everything Taylor has forged up to the latest chapters in the story timeline. It will be continuously updated as a reference sheet for future chapters. **If you have not read up to the latest chapter, it will contain spoilers.**

* * *

 ** _Noble Phantasms and Forged Artifacts Information Sheet_**

The following information sheet records the information my power told me, or that I've determined by testing.

* * *

 **Generic E-Rank Magical Artifacts**

Arrow Protection Amulet - Blocks minor projectile attacks until the amulet breaks. Small pieces of the amulet disintegrate every time something hits, the amount depends on the force blocked. This doesn't activate when the projectile hits a shield or armour it can't get through. When things hit they don't ricochet, they just drop down. Can't be turned off.

Ring of Elemental Protection - Limited protection from damage arising from one element type from the four classical Western elements. Can't be turned off. These rings seem to run out of power after protecting against an element for too long.

Ring of Fire Protection - Protects against fire and heat. Stops me from burning or boiling in water. Not sure if this works above a few hundred degrees. "Heat" also doesn't include the lack of it apparently. I can still get frostbite.  
Ring of Water Protection - Protects against water and liquid. This doesn't stop me from boiling in water...but does stop acids and bases. It also disperses water jets.  
Ring of Air Protection - Protects against air and vacuum. Wind stops around me. I can also just not breath and be fine, but would it stop me from decompressing in space?  
Ring of Earth Protection - Protects against earth and petrification. I don't get it, I'm still getting hurt by rocks...

Bracelet of Healing - Speeds up wound healing. This seems to reduce the amount of time it takes to heal from injuries by an order of magnitude. Still takes hours to heal a paper cut, and days for more serious injuries. Can't be turned off.

Evil-Warding Token - Alerts the user to, removes, and wards off evil spirits and negative influence. Don't know what this means yet...Master powers? Are ghosts real?

Dreamcatcher Weave - Stops nightmares and catches good dreams. It _literally_ catches dreams. I can put it over my head to replay dreams from last night...soooo cool!

Magic wand - Fast focus for casting spells.  
Magic staff - Amplifying focus for casting spells.  
Magic ritual dagger - Precise focus for setting up ritual spells. None of these magic foci actually work. I don't need the dagger for any of my forging rituals either. Note to self: find a Noble Phantasm that teaches me magic that isn't completely evil or fake.

* * *

 **Ranked Noble Phantasms**

 **EX-Rank**

 _Avalon: The Everdistant Utopia_ \- The magical sheath of Excalibur. Delivered to King Arthur by Merlin and the Fae, this blessed sheath grants its true owner the ability to heal from almost any wound or affliction near instantly, restoring the body to a state of perfect health. The Faerie blessing within can also be activated to call upon an absolute defense bringing the user to the utopia of Avalon to avoid any attack.

 **A-rank**

 **B-rank**

Hamesh Avanim Shl Qela - The sling used by David to defeat Goliath. When used properly, this simple tool can put the fear of God in heathens and faithful alike. It can unerringly hit the weak point to knock an opponent unconscious. The user must first denounce the opponent and declare their intention to fight in the name of the Lord. After firing five stones in a single battle, this sling will transform into a staff until the battle is over.

Carnwennan - A holy dagger inherited by Taylor Hebert from King Arthur with the power to control shadows. Can reduce the user's presence. Good cutting edge. It might be small but it can slice a witch or a giant in half. When fully activated, it will shroud the wielder, target, and surrounding space in total darkness that the wielder can see through. Once the activated blade is pierced into the target, it will unleash a powerful Anti-Unit attack from within the target's body to eradicate it. 

**C-Rank**

[Obsolete]Hamesh Avanim Shl Qela - The sling used by David to defeat Goliath. When used properly, this simple tool can put the fear of God in heathens and faithful alike. It can unerringly hit the weak point to knock an opponent unconscious. The user must first denounce the opponent and declare their intention to fight in the name of the Lord. Cannot be used against unarmed opponents. Cannot be used when the user is wearing armor. Cannot be used in a battle in which the user previously used any weapon which is not blunt. Can only fire a maximum of five stones in one battle.

[Obsolete]Carnwennan - A holy dagger that belonged to King Arthur with the power to control shadows. Can reduce the user's presence. Good cutting edge. It might be small but it can slice a witch or a giant in half.

 **D-Rank**


	6. Interlude 1-a (TVTropes Bonus)

**Interlude 1.a (TVTropes Bonus)**

" _We interrupt our BayNews24 5 o'clock daily news program because we have BREAKING NEWS for Brockton Bay. Jonathan, what do you have for us?"_

The screen shifts and shows a screenshot of a PHO thread with a video attachment, with a big all-caps title: GIRL DEFEATS HOOKWOLF WITH SLING AND STONE, HAILED AS NEW PROPHET.

" _This video was uploaded less than an hour ago on the Parahumans Online messaging boards and has absolutely gone viral across the globe, racking up over 300 million views, crashing the forums multiple times, and the view count is still rising rapidly. It appears to show one unmasked, possibly even_ unpowered _young woman stepping up to protect victims of the anti-minority gang known as Empire 88._ "

The image moves to a corner of the screen and the news hosts are back in the center behind the counter.

" _Reports say that Empire 88 members led by the supervillain Hookwolf had forced numerous hostages off a public bus to engage in one-on-one duels with new E88 recruits. When Hookwolf was about to execute a losing minority member, this girl, which we now know to be 15-year old Taylor Hebert, announced her intention to fight Hookwolf._ "

The screen then shows numerous images of Hookwolf's crimes.

" _Absolutely incredible. One of the most courageous demonstrations of heroism this city has seen in a long time. Hookwolf, a murderer with more than a dozen kills to his name, is widely known for his cruelty and power as one of E88's strongest capes."_

" _But that's not the stunning part of this video, Jessica._ "

" _No?"_

" _Ms. Hebert not only stepped up to stop the execution, she_ defeated _Hookwolf in a one on one duel with the powerful supervillain, using a sling and a stone."_

The video is played full screen while the anchor Jonathan is shrunk to a corner.

" _First, she gives a speech, a quote directly from the bible, the same words that David spoke to Goliath before their duel, calling up very, very powerful imagery with the parallels here as she fights against a group oppressing the Jewish people._ "

The video is allowed to play with full sound as Taylor made her speech.

" _And she is absolutely confident that she will_ w _in_ _this battle. This is no scared teenager martyring herself, this is a woman who believes completely that her God will deliver victory to her cause. And—there it is! There it is! One shot—the mask comes off! And there's the second one! He's down, he's down! Only two shots fired, and both with perfect accuracy, Hookwolf is_ down!Hookwolf is down _!"_ said Jonathan, his voice rising dramatically with emotion.

" _Oh my goodness! That is simply unbelievable! Just how difficult were those shots Jonathan?"_

" _Experts say that the sling she used appears to be authentically an ancient model, though we would need radiological testing to be sure. By appearances alone, it would be consistent with archeological findings of slings that date from the time of the biblical David, and such slings are not known for their accuracy. To put it simply, those two shots would have required a lifetime of training, or a_ miracle _!"_

" _Could it have been the result of a cape power?"_

" _The PRT was not available for comment. Our experts and other commentators on the web are completely split as to what to make of it. But Ms. Hebert herself has this to say about it."_

The video continues playing and shows Taylor before the crowd of worshippers, holding Hookwolf.

" _Let all the earth know this battle was the Lord's, for this day I have won not with sword in hand, but by grace of ĕlōhîm most high and grand!"_

" _And the onlookers at the scene clearly believed her, if their bowing and prayers are any indication."_

" _They look like they're from multiple religious denominations too."_

" _That's right Jessica. The story of David and Goliath features prominently in all of the Abrahamic faiths. Judaism, Christianity, Islam, all of them consider David to be a holy figure, so this is not surprising."_

" _But Jonathan, there have been supernatural powers for many years now on Earth-Bet, what exactly makes this case different?"_

" _I'm glad you asked Jessica. I have two local experts on call right now, and we can hear what they have to say."_

Two faces in rectangular boxes appear on screen behind Jonathan and Jessica.

" _On the left we have Dr. Gail Aquinas, professor of theological studies at Brockton Bay University, also best-selling author of the book_ _Redemption and Love: The True Kingdom of Heaven_ _. On the right we have Dr. Steven Crowley-Baumann, professor of parahuman studies at Brockton Bay University, and head of the East Coast Rationalist Institute of Occult Studies. Thank you very much for joining us today on such short notice, professors."_

" _My pleasure, Jonathan." "It's no trouble."_

" _First, let's hear from Dr. Aquinas. What is your position on Taylor Hebert's actions and proclamations?"_

" _This is without doubt the work of God. I have never seen a surer sign in my life. While it's too early to know if Ms. Hebert has been given divine revelation, there is simply no other explanation for what happened in the video. God has seen fit to deliver a message to Brockton Bay and the entire world, and He has used the young and faithful Ms. Hebert to deliver that message."_

" _Very good, Dr. Aquinas. Can you elaborate on why you don't believe there can be any other explanation, such as cape powers?"_

" _Of course. There are three key pieces of evidence. First, the sling itself is not likely to be any form of Tinkertech. What we have seen in all other examples of Tinkertech, despite their often inexplicable mode of function and construction, all had advanced technological appearances and principles behind them. The sling Ms. Hebert wielded was clearly an antiquated tool. Second, if you look closely at the background, you can see that as soon as Ms. Hebert gave her first speech, the skies darkened with cloud cover, and upon Hookwolf's defeat, a ray of light shone down on her, and appeared to follow her as she moved towards Hookwolf. Only when she made her final proclamation did the light expand and cover all of Brockton Bay and the clouds moved past. This is obviously not just a coincidence. As it is written in Psalms 19:2, the book that David himself wrote, the heavens reveal the glory of God, and the firmament shows his handiwork. This meteorological phenomena happened at such a scale that only a tremendously powerful cape on the level of the Triumvirate could have done it. It may not seem very impressive, but the clouds overhead did not simply condense from gaseous state in real-time. They were there naturally and had been moving for possibly hours before the battle. This means that a cape controlling it would have had to perfectly calculate weather patterns across the entire state and move them on an enormous scale to achieve this very accurate and coincidental result. It is generally accepted that weather patterns show a form of randomness better than most pseudo-random algorithms in computing today, so that kind of manipulation is very unlikely. It is much more likely to be the work of God, a miracle to prove the authenticity of His message."_

On the other side of the screen Crowley-Baumann was clearly shaking his head.

" _Finally, the faithful at the scene who began to venerate the holy acts done by Ms. Hebert clearly felt the divine presence of the Holy Spirit. Such varied religions present could not have so peacefully and uniformly prayed together if not because they knew without a doubt that God was there and He would grant salvation to_ all _of them. He had never abandoned his chosen people of Israel, and all those who came to believe in him would be redeemed as well, and that was his message here: every Church or Mosque of God should put away their differences and find common ground in their faith in God, because the Lord is God of all._ "

" _That's an excellent analysis Dr. Aquinas. So you see, Jessica, this is why this case is so different. There are very strong arguments supporting the idea that Ms. Hebert did have some sort of divine protection_. _Now let's hear from Dr. Crowley-Baumann."_

" _I thought you'd never ask, Jonathan. Dr. Aquinas raised interesting points but they are unfortunately the wrong conclusions. First, there are some very unusual Tinkertech examples that do exist, and while none are of the antiquated relic sort yet, there have been enough strange devices that follow different themes for us to accept that a sling might well be Tinkertech. The local villain Leet, for example, has produced items that for all intents and purposes, look like they came out of a video game, not even remotely looking like electronic or technological devices at all, despite being Tinkertech. Second, it is not necessary to control the weather on a large scale to achieve the effect we saw. Simply by controlling a few clouds, it would be possible to block the sun in just the right way at that moment. As Dr. Aquinas said, the weather is random and we have no way to precisely simulate it. Contrary to my colleague's conclusion, this only means that we have no way to determine if somebody did control any part of it. Since we don't know where the clouds_ would _have gone, we can't prove either way whether it was under the control of a cape or not."_

Dr. Aquinas could be seen rolling his eyes.

" _Finally, the people worshipping in the video could easily be under a Master power of some sort. Or maybe the video just cut off at the right moment before we saw any conflict,"_ Dr. Crowley-Baumann concluded.

" _I think you're being a bit narrow-minded, Steven. You can't just assume everyone that believes in God is being Mastered because it doesn't make sense to you. One day you will find God in your heart too."_

" _I never said anything of the sort, Gail,_ you _are obviously not being Mastered. It's just the people in the video who are acting too suspicious."_

" _You think everything is suspicious. Some things you have to take on faith."_

" _In this day and age, we have to be suspicious, with the myriad powers that can exist."_

" _Gentlemen, I'm afraid we have to move on. Once again, thank you for joining us, your insights were very valuable,"_ said Jonathan.

 _A nod and a grunt was all that came back before the guests' visual boxes were turned off._

" _So there you have it. The debate is still going strong on PHO. We've also had an anonymous tip from someone familiar with the Vatican that the Pope is already preparing to call a consistory of the College of Cardinals for this very topic, amid rumors that His Holiness himself received divine revelation upon watching the video._ "

" _Only an hour and it's already reached the eyes of the Pope?_ "

" _That's right. Perhaps Rita can give us an idea of how the story has spread so fast."_

The screen was replaced by a reporter in front of the site of the battle, where a huge crowd had formed and people could be seen praying towards a broken blade on a makeshift altar on the grass now surrounded by a circle of flowers and various offerings.

" _This is Rita Shillings, at the site of the battle between the newly proclaimed prophet and Hookwolf. The PRT have already secured Hookwolf and left the scene. We are live here with Martha Cowen. I am told that she is sister to the man who was forced to duel and lost, almost being executed by Hookwolf. Is that right, Martha?"_

The screen moved right to show a haggard woman in bloody clothes standing beside Rita. Rita moved her microphone over.

" _Yes, I am she._ "

" _How is your brother, Martha? Is he okay?"_

" _He took a very hard beating, Rita. When the paramedics finally arrived, they had to perform emergency work on the spot. He was pronounced dead when his heart stopped."_

" _Oh no! I'm very sorry, Martha—"_

" _Do not be sorry. It was only a test of my faith. Our Lady of the Sword showed me the truth of God's mercy. My brother was resurrected when the Lord answered my prayers."_

" _Oh that's wonderful. What a miracle! He is better now?"_

" _He has already been taken to the hospital and I am assured that he will make a full recovery. Our Lady of the Sword knew that my brother would die, and she saved him with her blood upon the holy blade that was sacrificed in exchange for his life."_

" _Holy blade? You mean the blade taken from Hookwolf over there that everyone is praying to? Is that why you're calling her Our Lady of the Sword?"_

" _Yes, that is the one. We call her Our Lady of the Sword because these were her words to us as she held the holy blade taken from Hookwolf:_ _I have won not with sword in hand, but by grace of ĕlōhîm most high and grand. She is stronger than any physical sword in hand could be, because she is herself the Sword of God on earth that strikes down the souls of his enemies. Amen. Amen."_

The woman who was known as Martha clasped her hands together and closed her eyes as she said the last words.

When she was done, Rita continued. " _So Martha, why aren't you with your brother now? Why are you still here at the scene?"_

Martha's eyes gleamed with fervor.

" _I am following Our Lady's commandment. We must let all the earth know of this battle that was the Lord's victory, and of Her coming with God-given grace to save us and deliver us from evil. We must spread her holy message and let the whole world know that racists and Philistines are not welcome in Brockton Bay, for God is watching over this city and demands the destruction of the Empire 88!"_

Martha's voice grew as she spoke, rising to nearly a shout at the end.

Behind her, several other people moved towards the camera and began shouting.

" _We will feed their carcasses to the birds and animals!" "No more racists and Philistines!" "Death to the Empire 88!"_

" _And that's the situation here, folks. This was Rita Shillings, with BayNews24."_

O O O

 **A/N** : This was a bonus chapter to written to commemorate our TVTropes page which I mentioned last chapter. Also thank you to Tropers Donquill and tlc2014 for their contributions to the page.

The events of this chapter are to be considered canonical in the main story. And before you ask: yes, Martha's brother above was the "husband" Taylor narrated about last chapter.

Also, fair warning: this bonus chapter a mostly light tone because it's meant to be commemorative. Next chapter is going to be a bit different.

I would also like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who left a review. I have read all your comments and appreciate the support; I have a few responses to questions from reviewers below:

FreeTraderBeowolf: I hope it is clear now that the synchronization from 1.3 was of two different NPs. I meant to leave a little bit of mystery there, but it should be obvious in 1.4

Suzululu4moe: The NPs will primarily work off the synchronization mechanic, though in some cases they do require approval from an "owner". I'm not sure about Jewish villains, and I don't think Taylor/Danny's religion is mentioned in the canon worm.

thestorymaker2: You'll have to read and find out :) I will plan to use more mythologies though, but there's some underlying themes I want to go for and Taylor is limited by synchronization.

Finally, in case you are not aware, those of you who actually want to engage me or other readers in a more in-depth conversation, you can check out the thread on Spacebattles forum where I post chapter drafts slightly ahead of FFN for error checking and minor revisions. You can also find fan omakes and other content there. I am also on Sufficient Velocity but the bulk of our fan community is on Spacebattles. You can go to my FFN profile page for the links.


	7. Interlude 1-x (The Dragon Crusade)

**WARNING:** This chapter contains minor depictions of torture and other heavy themes.

 **Interlude 1.x (The Dragon Crusade)**

Lung sat lazily on his couch as he watched the TV. Hookwolf humiliated, riots breaking out, a little girl called a saint.

"Big brother, what should we do? There is chaos in the city, we cannot find the Undersiders like this," one of his unpowered lieutenants asked.

"We attack," he answered with a growl.

His lieutenant looked confused.

"We attack? But we don't know where they are?"

The bare chested leader of the Asian Bad Boyz threw away his sake and stood up.

"No, you fool, not the kids. Tell me, why do you think Hookwolf chose to do an initiation in public today?"

"To enhance their reputation?"

"Yes, but why today? Why not last week?"

The lieutenant struggled but did not find an answer. "I'm sorry, sir, I don't know."

"Because I did not find the children that robbed me! They wanted to show their strength in contrast, and lure those who would go to their protection under the threat of my wrath."

His underling quietly kept his doubts to himself. He did not consider it likely that the Empire's motives revolved around Lung's troubles.

"I see now big brother. I was blind not to see Mt. Tai."

"They struck at our weakness, and we will return the favor. Gather our brothers. Tell the men that the Empire 88 is harboring the Undersiders. Reward the people under our protection for their assistance in locating them. Tonight, we go to war against the empire! We will root out all who would look down on Asians, all those who steal our jobs, rob our businesses, and rape our women, and we will burn them to ash!"

The lieutenant felt a shiver run down his spine. He finally understood what his leader was trying to do. Lung was not foolish or arrogant. It did not matter if the Undersiders were protected by the E88. It only mattered that the ABB spread the claims and back up the rumors with action—after all, if the ABB was willing to go to war over it, they _must_ have some real evidence. Lung would kill two birds with one stone: slander the Undersiders and take advantage of a rival gang's weakness to attack.

"Oni Lee, come." At those words, the silent ABB cape emerged from the shadows.

"Oh, and little Liang? Take a few men and have them organize some protests of their own. Ensure they wear traditional clothes and not ABB colors. Hand out the guns and get some bombs from Bakuda to protect the peaceful protesters. Anyone who dares to challenge their demonstrations shall be met with the full might of the ABB."

Liang was wrong. Mt. Tai was truly too high. He looked at his leader with admiration. Lung would kill not two but _three_ birds with one stone. By inciting violence, he would force the E88 and the authorities to react with violence in turn, pushing more moderate Asians into joining the ABB. Liang knew how companies hired fake crowds for their sales events to attract gullible customers, but he had never thought to apply the principle here.

This…this was why little Liang followed Lung.

O O O

"Chief Director, with all due respect, my city is falling apart! Riots are breaking out, there's a school on fire, Medhall has been bombed, and there's open fighting in the streets like it's some kind of warzone! And you're telling me we can't take in Phantasm's Master victims or even look for Phantasm?!" Piggot spoke loudly towards the video output of Costa-Brown's face. "I could understand being cautious in the beginning, but we're long past the point of reasonable doubt! My own people are starting to whisper in the breakrooms about having seen God! This is the strongest Master on record, maybe stronger than even the Simurgh with the video!"

Phantasm. That was the origin of all the chaos in the city tonight. Named Phantasm for her apparent power to make people "see" or "feel" illusions of God. Far above whatever she means used to defeat Hookwolf, that was the scariest part of her power. Many had proposed giving her the codename Apostle, Prophetess, or even Davida, but Piggot could not allow such a thing. That kind of name would only legitimize her supposed divine miracles.

"I understand the situation, Director Piggot. Nevertheless, we cannot afford to take aggressive action against them. WEDGDG's predictions are clear, if we attempt to detain Phantasm or her non-violent followers, the consequences for the PRT and the Protectorate will be dire. I have discussed this with the President, the Secretary of Defense, and the director of NSA, and we have agreed that this has become a matter of national security. There are a number of Congressmen and Senators who have received calls from their constituencies calling for more serious measures against villains and petitioning to amend the Three Strikes Protection Act for the purpose of reinstating the death penalty on parahumans. Brockton Bay is not the only city being affected, we are already seeing the early warning signs of militant agitation across the entire US. Open rioting has been limited to Brockton Bay, and we need to keep it isolated. To put it simply, we are balancing on a tight-rope, and one wrong move could lead to civil war."

"But if we let this go on, the whole country could fall under Phantasm's control! This is the S-class threat to end all S-class threats!"

"Our Thinkers do not believe that Phantasm's followers are directly under her control. The effect is limited to instilling the belief that God exists and was responsible for Phantasm's victory. The rioting in Brockton Bay is not under her control, and furthermore appears to be primarily the work of ABB rather than extremists taking action on their own."

Piggot unprofessionally ran her hand over her hair, and took a deep breath.

"That doesn't change the fact that her actions have led to people following her and treating her words like divine commandments. If she declares a crusade, are we just going to sit by and watch?"

"No but that would be an unlikely scenario. David cut off Goliath's head yet Phantasm did not kill Hookwolf. We stand to lose more by alienating her. There are numerous interest groups who would like to appropriate Phantasm's influence for their own agendas, particularly the anti-parahuman and anti-PRT groups that would seize on Phantasm as a champion of the unpowered. We need to stay focused on keeping the peace, rather than giving ammunition to these groups by martyring Phantasm and her followers," said Costa-Brown.

"Hookwolf might as well be dead. None of his metal has receded back into him and he'll be in a coma for who knows how long. If Phantasm turns her influence against the PRT and becomes more aggressive, the consequences would be equally dire."

"Director Piggot, I sympathize with you but my hands are tied. Even if I wanted to authorize action against Phantasm, I could not. The President has already made his decision on this. I must warn you now, do not take any actions on your own, or you may cause a diplomatic incident. The eyes of the world are on Brockton Bay, and I should not need to detail for you what would happen if the PRT is seen as being on the wrong side. I assure you your career would be the least of your worries if certain theocratic nation-states demanded your extradition for crimes against humanity."

Piggot's face grew increasingly grim with each sentence from the Chief Director.

"Use your forces to keep the peace, and quell any violent mobs but do not attempt to detain Phantasm's followers on suspicion of Master effects alone. Should public perception regarding Phantasm shift negatively as a result of the violence, then we may consider more aggressive approaches. Until then, you are to treat her as a hero and—"

The video conference was ended abruptly as Piggot's comms system registered an emergency call.

She took a look at the ID and picked up.

"Calvert, did you find Shadow Stalker?"

" _No—"_

"Then why are you calling me?!"

" _We have an emergency. We just encountered the ABB's new Tinker. She's taken Victor, Othala, and Rune hostage along with a group of unpowered E88 members, and she's torturing them in front of a crowd. We need reinforcements ASAP."_

"What? Get me the video feed!" She pressed a button on her panel and her video screen changed to show the scene as taken by a PRT trooper with surveillance.

There, the ABB cape with a gas mask stood in front of a crowd on a wooden platform, with the hostages bound, tied, and cuffed with electronic devices strapped to their heads. Bombs, most likely.

"— _I am here to give these racists a taste of hell! Hahaha…I have a special treat for these scum today…thanks to my genius I have created the most miraculous bombs! This one will give them the purest pain in the world! Hehe…hahaha…AHHAHAHAHA_!" She flung a bomb towards the hostages and pressed a button on a remote control.

" _AHHHHHHHHHHH!"_ The victims screamed with unearthly wails, shaking and writhing uncontrollably.

Piggot's face went white.

O O O

"Shit, he's not picking up! Why the hell isn't he picking up? This is his emergency line!" Brian muttered.

"Just chill, man. Tats will be fine, it's just a power headache," said Alec as he kept playing his video game. "Fuck, is this guy walling? That's some serious twitch action."

"She's foaming at the mouth Alec! This is no joke, she's having a seizure!"

"Dude, that's not foaming, it's just some drool. Trust me, I've seen girls foam at the mouth before."

"How did she get so fucked up just watching a video?"

"You could watch it and find out?"

"Fuck that!"

Brian called the boss again with no answer. Suddenly his phone rang.

"Hello?"

" _Brian, you fucking bastard! How could you?!"_

"Aisha? What are you talking about? Didn't I tell you this number is for emergencies only?"

" _Stop acting dumb! I know what you've been up to. I never said anything because I thought you had a good reason, but you've gone too far!"_

"Too far? Aisha, what do you think I've been up to?"

" _You're a cape, a member of the Undersiders. You've been going out as a villain working for a secret boss. I thought you were just a small-time group robbing and stealing to make a quick buck, but all this time your secret boss was the Empire 88! Don't try to fucking deny it, word's out on the streets! The ABB are attacking the Empire 88 for protecting you!"_

"What the hell? I'm not working for the E88! I am a cape and part of the Undersiders but we don't work for those Nazis!"

" _Oh yeah? Who is your boss then, huh?"_

"I—I—I don't know, but shit, it's not the fucking empire!"

Brian heard a mutter from the other side. " _…this fucking tool._ "

"I swear to god Aisha, I'm not working for the same people that want our people dead because of our skin color!"

" _I'm joining the March Against Prejudice in Brockton Bay. Maybe when they tell you to beat up your own sister you'll wake the fuck up."_

Brian held the phone numbly to his head as the tone played flatly.

Alec turned off his game. "That might explain why the boss is too busy to answer. Probably fighting off Lung right about now."

"But…the boss _can't_ be E88…he promised to help me get custody of Aisha! He made _me_ the leader of this team, _me¸_ a black guy!"

"You sure about that? So why is it that Tats is the only one who knows who he is and not you?"

Brian stared lifelessly at the carpet.

Alec got up and took Brian's phone, hanging up for him, then put it into Brian's pocket.

"Brian, go get your sister before she does something you'll both regret. I'll take care of Lisa and we'll figure out the truth when she wakes up."

"Alec, I—"

"Look, don't do any of that mushy stuff. Just go. You don't have any time to waste."

Brian took one last look his teammate, who gave him an uncharacteristically serious gaze, and rushed out of Lisa's apartment.

O O O

Glory Girl flew through the air and smashed into a nearby building.

"Vicky!" Panacea shouted as she turned away from her patients in the emergency medical camp.

A white light intercepted her.

"You have to save her, please! I'm begging you!" The light died down and revealed a middle aged woman holding the form of a bloody toddler.

Panacea stepped back with a bit of wariness and a lot of anger.

"You're Purity! Why did you attack Glory Girl?"

The woman kneeled down. "She wouldn't let me through! I need your help, please, Panacea, don't do it for me, but for my baby, she's innocent, please!"

The renowned healer looked more closely at the baby in Purity's arms. Her expression softened and she looked back at the desperate mother.

"If I help her, then you'll turn yourself in for your crimes."

Purity's eyes widened. "I can't! I have to take care of her! I'm not a part of the E88 anymore, I've been acting as an independent hero for a year! But if people find out she's mine, there's no way she'll be safe! I swear I'm not a villain anymore, I won't commit any more crimes!"

Panacea pursed her lips. "And you'll leave Brockton Bay."

"I will, I will, anything, I'll do anything you want!"

"Alright, fine."

She stepped forward and touched the baby.

She jolted back and stared at Purity with horrified eyes.

"I-I'm sorry! I can't help her anymore! She's already gone!"

Purity's face twisted into an ugly snarl.

"You liar! You're lying to me! Aster can still be saved, you just don't want to help me!" She screamed, rushing forward and shoving the corpse at Panacea.

Glory Girl cut in and blocked her way.

"Enough! Purity, my sister said she can't help, she wouldn't lie to you! I'm sorry but you should give your baby the proper respect and let her rest in peace!"

"No!" Purity shouted and glowed white again, shooting off into the air. "If you won't help then I just have to find someone that will! Othala, that's right, I can find Othala!"


	8. Everdistant 1-5

" _Artoria, you must be certain of yourself. When you pull the sword from the stone, you and all of Britain will forever change. There is no turning back. Are you ready?"_

" _After all these years that I've prepared…how could I turn back now? This is the role given to me since birth, my responsibility and my mission," she answered without turning towards the voice her mentor. She kept her eyes on the lightly glowing sword in front of her._

" _You are more than ready, but I must caution you still. The right and the choice are both yours, and you must choose this of your own will. The sword may choose the King, but you may choose whether Britain shall have a King at all. Are you certain of this choice?"_

 _Artoria looked back this time. She gave Merlin a peculiar look._

" _How is that even in the realm of consideration? This is not a time for your usual riddles. What are you trying to warn me of, what will happen when I pull the sword? Is it not merely proof of my legitimacy as Uther's heir?"_

 _Kay glanced between the two. "Merlin, you couldn't have talked this over with her_ before _we came here? You are the one who brought her to us and set her on this journey. Why hesitate now?_ "

 _A long deep sigh escaped the Magician's mouth._

" _I warn you not because I wish to see a Kingless Britain, but because I fear I have pushed you too much. When you pull that sword…you will cease being human. This sword did not belong to Uther. Nor is it a Mystic Code of my creation. I know not whence it came, but I feel the power hidden within. You are_ needed _, Artoria, for the World itself has chosen you, but that same need bodes ill for Britain. The Age of Gods is over, and my foresight does not tell me what evil would require such power to defeat."_

" _You have told me this before, Merlin. Is that not why you imbued into me the essence of a dragon when I was but an unborn babe in the womb? I was already different from the rest. What does it matter that I will no longer age?"_

 _Merlin grimaced._

" _I…have seen a new vision. For the sake of the miracle you seek…you will lose that which is most important to you."_

 _At Merlin's words Artoria's eyes lost focus and were immersed in a vision._

 _Then her eyes gained strength and resolve._

"— _No. Many people were smiling. I do not believe it will be a mistake."_

" _Thrice I ask and done. Are you prepared to take the throne of Britain, Arthur, son of Uther?"_

 _She turned back to look upon the holy sword. She moved her hand toward the handle._

" _I am."_

 _Light streamed from the sword, a blinding golden radiance that engulfed the earth and the sky._

 _The sounds of the joust and the crowds fell silent. From the tournament they organized to decide who would be King, the lords and knights rushed back towards the abandoned sword and the source of the light._

 _They saw a young and stunningly beautiful—man, woman?—draw forth the Sword in the Stone with no resistance, wreathed in a golden aura._

 _There was silence._

 _Kay and Merlin dropped to their knees._

" _Long live the King! Long Live King Arthur, son of Uther, rightful heir to the line of Pendragon!" They shouted as one._

 _The lords and knights grit their teeth but stayed still. They would not bow to some random upstart claiming to be the son of Uther with not an army to his name._

" _Long live the new King of all Britain, wielder of the holy sword Caliburn, anointed by God!" Somebody in the crowd shouted._

 _Reluctantly, other lords and knights began to slowly kneel down._

 _Artoria glanced over and saw the lord who shouted. She saw the provocative green dragon on his personal coat of arms, and recognized him as one of the strongest rival claimants to the throne by the military power supporting him. He was kneeling yet his head remained upright, staring right at Artoria. She saw the unspoken challenge in his eyes._

' _The holy sword may protect the King, but it is the King's power that rules the Kingdom. Now that you have drawn the sword for us, when you inevitably fall, we will simply take your sword, your symbol, your divine right to rule, and choose a new King.'_

 _She would prove him wrong. She looked through the crowd who refused to acknowledge her._

 _It did not matter._

 _She would be the perfect king. She would never lose and never falter._

 _Even if they despised her, she would be the King that Britain needed._

 **Everdistant 1.5**

 _I blinked away the vision with a start. The sun shone brightly and the air was clean. The trill of birdsong lightly reached my ears._

" _I was surely naïve then, wasn't I? The perfect King? The King who was inhuman enough to execute his own wife, whose reign was endless war, who killed his own son that the people loved more as King."_

 _The bitter voice of King Artoria drew my eyes to her, where she sat crossed-legged on the grass, her back facing me._

 _Caliburn still lay stuck in the stone in the clearing. Its radiance not even a fraction of what I witnessed in that dream when it called to Artoria. No, to even call this…battered piece of metal radiant would be ridiculous. Now that I had seen the real thing, I realized that this sword in front of me was worn, cracked, broken in many places._

 _Just looking at it gave me a terrible sense of loss._

" _But…you tried so hard, you sacrificed everything. People remember you as the best king Britain ever had, and Mordred as the traitor that brought down the kingdom. Nobody blames you for it," I answered._

" _History has a way of obscuring the truth. When I returned from the pursuit of Lancelot, there was no doubt…the people who had tasted of Mordred's peaceful rule no longer wanted me as the king."_

 _I didn't know what to say to that. How could I reassure her when her words rang true? The broken sword at her right was the testament of her failure. But it wasn't fair. How could anyone be perfect? Caliburn broke just because she broke the rules of chivalry one time. That just seemed…petty. It didn't even have anything to do with the tragedies of her later reign, unless it was supposed to be prophetic or something._

 _King Artoria sighed and stood up, facing me with a solemn gaze._

" _Do you understand why I stopped you from beheading your foe?"_

 _I squirmed under her gaze. That was…really embarrassing, and horrifying. I was nearly taken over and killed a defenseless man just to make a point. I aspired to be like King Artoria but she would never have done that. When Lancelot killed knights who were unarmed, that was the point of no return. Gawain had deeply admired Lancelot until that one deed changed everything._

" _It wasn't right. I don't have the right to take the law into my own hands. He was defenseless and it was dishonorable. And…I was not in control of myself. It wasn't my own will then," I said. I was reminded also of how Merlin counseled King Artoria that she had to choose of her own will. That was important._

 _She nodded. "Good. You have a good head on your shoulders. However, I also chose to show you those specific memories for another reason. The affair with Guinevere was not a moment I am proud of. If there is anything to regret about my rule, that would be it. Tell me, what do you think of the way I chose to handle it?"_

 _I was relieved at her approval of my answer. Then I thought hard about the problem that Guinevere presented. Adultery was surely a bad thing, but did it really merit execution? To my modern morals, the punishment seemed far too disproportionate. But in the old days, that was actually the law. Was King Artoria asking me to consider whether the law was wrong, right after using that memory to stop me from breaking the law? That seemed rather strange._

 _But as a King, she definitely had the authority to change an unjust law, so what would have been the right decision?_

 _I remembered reading academic analyses of the fall of Arthur. It was said that the King saw it as choosing between his knights and his wife, and he chose his knights. But having seen her memories myself, I thought that wasn't quite right. She was…actually very angry at both Lancelot and Guinevere. After the loss of many knights to the quest for the Holy Grail, especially Galahad, the king was already heavily burdened but she did not show it. When her best friend and her wife then betrayed her trust, she was devastated and outraged. But, thinking of the good of the whole kingdom, she believed that it would be better to give Lancelot, her strongest remaining knight, the chance to live and support the kingdom. Guinevere, on the other hand, her main purpose was to bear an heir for the king, but King Artoria was ageless so she could rule forever without an heir. The decision was in the end, for the good of the kingdom._

 _When Lancelot then rescued Guinevere instead of properly repenting, that was the final blow that broke King Artoria's emotionless façade. She goaded Gawain into seeking revenge, because she had lost herself to her anger then._

 _I swallowed hard, feeling unsure of my answer. It was easy for me to say that executing Guinevere was a mistake, but what else could she have done? It might have been inhuman…but the logic had been sound. The kingdom needed Lancelot and all the military support he could bring to bear. This was evidenced by scale of the war King Artoria had to pursue in order to deal with Lancelot._

" _The kingdom needed Lancelot…but it was unjust to punish Guinevere with death and not Lancelot simply because she was less important. It was wrong to sacrifice her for the greater good. And, maybe the law wasn't just either. Rather than simply breaking it, maybe it would have been better to change the law from then onwards?" I felt awkward ending with an unsure question. She had to be expecting more of me, but I just didn't know what the right answer would be._

" _It was indeed unjust…and perhaps I should have changed the law. But, in truth the heart of the matter does not lie there," she said. I knew it. Of course I couldn't come up with a better answer than the much more experienced king._

" _Why did Guinevere seek Sir Lancelot at all? Why was she unsatisfied with me, her husband that she had sworn to love eternally?"_

 _My eyes darted down her body and then rapidly back up as I fought off a blush. That—that was a stupid answer I just thought of. But I couldn't help it! I mean, if Guinevere just wasn't a lesbian, of course she wouldn't be "satisfied". But then I quickly realized that didn't make any sense. How was Mordred even conceived? If—if King Artoria didn't have the right…equipment?_

 _Heedless of my flushed face, she continued, "It was because I had neglected her in favour of the kingdom. It was an error borne of the same criticisms my knights whispered to themselves of me. In my efforts to be the perfect king, I had suppressed all emotion. I made myself alone, and did not understand the people anymore. I denied my love, because I could not allow myself to be influenced by it. At some point…I even lost my love for the kingdom, seeing my rule as simply my duty."_

— _For the sake of the miracle you seek…you will lose that which is most important to you_

 _I suddenly remembered what Merlin had prophesied. Was that it? The price of the miracle she sought? She lost the love of Britain that made her choose to become king in the first place?_

 _She looked away into the distance wistfully. "I failed Guinevere. And in doing so, I failed the kingdom."_

" _You really loved her then…but you sacrificed even that…" I murmured._

" _Yes. She was the most wonderful Queen I could have ever asked for. Yet, I never once told her that I love her. And wherever that her soul might have gone after death, she will never hear these words from me, for I am forever to remain here on the island of Avalon."_

 _Hearing her last sentence, it was soul-crushing. Had she been here for over a thousand years by herself regretting all her mistakes? When I put it that way, calling this a utopia was like a sick joke. If it were me I would have gone insane already._

" _Do not pity me, Taylor. I tell you this so that you may avoid the mistakes I made. Do not lose sight of yourself. Every Noble Phantasm you forge may exert influence on you, and every trial you face will change you. But no matter what, remember who you are and why you fight. If you pursue only victory, you may win the wrong things and lose what truly matters. You have access to great power, but the hardest problems cannot be solved with only power. Today you have won your first victory, but this is only the beginning of your journey."_

Just like last time, I suddenly found myself back in my room with no warning, while King Artoria's voice continued to resound in my mind.

— _Avalon: Synchronization 65%_

" _ **Just as all of Britain trembled upon my drawing of Caliburn, so too has your city felt the shockwave of your emergence. When you ran from the site of battle, you left a great disturbance to grow unchecked. You must make haste, Taylor! You have no army and no knights to call your own, and what you do in the coming storm will define your path to Kingship. Now is the time to act, before your enemies can seize upon your vulnerability!"**_

I was alarmed at her words and reminded of the people who started worshipping me. What if somebody had caught the whole thing on camera? Anybody actually religious who wasn't affected by the sling at the scene would be calling for my head for faking God's miracles and quoting a renowned holy figure like David when I was obviously just a cape. Heck, they might even think I Mastered all those people…which was kind of true. I had the urge to shrink in a corner for running away like that and not immediately denying the people who proclaimed me a prophet, but King Artoria was right, there was no time to waste. I had to take back control as soon as possible.

Suddenly the doorbell rang. Was that dad? But wait, what if I was followed home, or somebody recognized me at the battle? I didn't have a chance to get a good look at everyone there, so it was possible.

Erring on the side of caution, I picked up the sheathed Carnwennan from under my pillow, and hid it inside my clothes before heading to the door.

— _Carnwennan: Synchronization 44%_

The doorbell rang again just as I looked through the eyehole.


	9. Honour 2-1

**Honour 2.1**

I opened the door and looked upon my visitor.

There she was, disheveled hair, puffy eyes, and quivering lips.

How many times have I dreamed of this sight? I couldn't even count it.

And now that she was here, I didn't know what to feel. Why did she come? Was it only a trick, like she tricked me before when she arranged for me a fake friend? Was she even here for what it seemed she was here for?

And so I asked.

"Emma. What are you doing here?"

Her lower lip dropped down but no sound came out. She struggled to form words but I only ended up hearing rapid breaths.

I glanced past the prone Emma at my doorstep and found nobody else outside. She came here alone.

A bit of irritation found its way onto my face as I looked at Emma who was still unable to speak.

"Emma, why did you come here, looking like you've been crying the whole day? Was getting suspended just once all it took to break you?"

I couldn't help but take a jab at her. I had stopped hoping she would come to her senses after the locker incident. Now…even if she did, would I care for it?

She flinched at my words and teared up immediately. But she finally managed to speak.

"I-I-I'm s-sorry!"

It was just as I suspected. She really came to apologize.

My expression didn't change as I gazed at her.

"I'm sorry, T-Taylor! F-for everything! I'm sorry for b-betraying you, for b-breaking your m-mom's flute, f-for c-calling you w-w-weak, for the l-locker, for everything I d-did since t-that summe—" she said until her voice hitched and started a burst of sniffling.

I simply waited for her to finish. She wiped her face with her sleeve before starting again.

"You're s-strong, T-Taylor. Stronger than I could ever be. I kn-knew you were but I was so s-stupid, trying to h-hurt you to p-prove it. E-even though I did so many h-horrible things, you d-didn't want to hurt me even though I never deserved to have a friend like you and I ruined everything and I a-almost killed you!"

She paused again to wipe her tears and snot. And I waited again without saying anything. I barely understood what she was talking about. Proving that I was strong?

"I know I can't ever make it up to you, and I don't deserve forgiveness. That's why, I-I'll stop, and I'll stop Sophia and Madison and all the other girls. I'll confess to everything. A-and I'll do whatever you want me to do. I-if you want to hit me, I w-won't resist. If you want to me to l-leave and never come back, if you never want to s-see me again, if you w-want me to d-d-die, then j-just tell me and I'll d-do it," she said shakily, forcing her eyes shut at the end, as if waiting for me to hit her.

I watched her with no small amount of incredulity. What happened to make her so remorseful all of a sudden? It was just a one day suspension. Did her parents freak on her or something? But then, talking about willing to die? Really?

I had half a mind to think that she was just playing it up for me. She certainly could act well.

"Do you think I'll believe you just like that? You're ready to die to pay for what you did? It's been a year and a half that I've waited for you to come to your senses. Not once did you show any sign of regret. And now that you've been punished once by the school, you come to me with some bullshit about proving that I was strong?"

Her eyes were open again and she looked increasingly pale as I spoke.

"Did your mom and dad force you to apologize to me? You say you hurt me to prove I was strong? No, you hurt me to feel good about yourself. You _wanted_ me to die in that locker. I've had enough of your lies. The Emma I knew died a long time ago. You're just a fake that stole the face of my best friend. You're not Emma. You're a just bitch that hates my guts." I said.

"N-no, I-I-I…"

I shut the door in her face. Then I looked through the eyehole and watched carefully. Now I would see if she was genuine or just acting.

She stood there pitifully staring at my door. She stayed there without moving for a whole minute, eyes slowly glazing over.

Then she fell to her knees. A barely audible voice reached my ears through the door.

"I'm a liar. I'm not Emma. I'm a fake that stole Emma's face."

Then she took out a knife from her pocket, unsheathed it and stared into her reflection on the blade. Alarmed, I slammed open the door.

"What the hell are you doing?"

She didn't even hear me or look at me.

"Emma is dead. Emma died over the summer. Eyes, nose, mouth, or ears." She held up the blade and moved it with shaking hands. Her expression morphed into one of hate.

"None of these belong to you, you bitch!" She screamed and shoved the tip towards her eye.

I reached out wrenched her wrist to the side. She resisted like she was possessed, trying to bring the knife point back towards herself.

"I have to give back Emma's face!"

I wrestled with her and tumbled over. I was stronger so I squeezed on her wrist until she dropped the knife, and pinned both of her arms down so she couldn't try to grab it again.

"Let me go, I have to die and give back Emma's face!" She cried, her eyes staring into nowhere and somehow not seeing me even though I was right on top of her.

I moved her arms up so I could pin them both with one arm. Then with one hand free, I slapped her.

She was still delirious, so I slapped her a couple more times until the focus came back into her eyes.

"T-Taylor?"

"Emma, I forgive you."

And I meant it. It felt liberating to say it.

How could I forgive her after all that she did? How could I just forget my anger and resentment?

Truthfully I had stopped being angry and self-pitying some time ago. Even when I was in school this morning I wasn't concerned anymore with my bullies.

And after everything I learned and experienced today, I knew that holding a grudge would never make me happy.

It would only lead to more regret.

Instead of calming down or being relieved, Emma's expression grew frightened.

"No! You can't! I'm not Emma!"

Deep down what I wanted wasn't justice. It wasn't about making her pay for her crimes.

"I can and I just did. I forgive you. You said you would do anything I wanted right? Well I want my best friend back."

"B-but, I'm not Emma, I'm just a fake…" Her hands stopped struggling against me. I let her go and sat up.

Then I pulled up her up into a hug and whispered into her ear.

What I wanted was…

"You are Emma. You forgot yourself for a long time, but you've finally remembered who you were. You are Emma Barnes, my best friend. And I forgive you. I forgive everything." I rubbed her on the back comfortingly.

"I don't deserve your forgiveness!" She started bawling right after saying that and gripped onto me like her life depended on it, her face sinking down into my shoulder.

"Maybe not, but I forgive you anyway. All I want is for my best friend to come back to me. You owe me this much, don't you think?" I spoke softly and ran my hand down her hair.

…to honour her memory.

I watched the setting sun in the distance with a bittersweet smile. Even as I comforted Emma, tears were sliding down my own face.

O O O

Good things never last.

"You fucking bitch! I knew you were a Master! Get away from her, Emma!"

I turned towards the voice just as I was about to bring Emma through the door and into my house.

There stood Shadow Stalker in her black hooded costume, pointing a crossbow at me from the driveway. What was Shadow Stalker doing here, and how did she know Emma?

Ah. It took only a moment to click in my head.

 _Sophia Hess_.

"Hebert, everyone knows what you did! You've Mastered people into worshipping you. You've Mastered the whole fucking school. You really thought nobody would notice?"

"What? What are you talking about?" I could understand if she thought I Mastered the worshipping me at the battle with Hookwolf, but the school?

"Don't play dumb, Hebert! Veder's been ranting about you being Jesus on fucking TV, and now you've Mastered Emma. Let go of her or I'm going to shoot."

Veder, as in _Greg_ Veder, ranting about me on TV? What in the world happened while I was dreaming?!

"No, Stalker! You're wrong, I haven't been Mastered!" Emma shouted, holding tightly onto me still.

"Emma is here because she realized some things. Like the fact that her best friend has always been _me_ , Sophia."

Shadow Stalker was silent for a moment.

"Taylor, you can't just—" Emma's panicked voice was cut off.

"You're too dangerous to live any longer, Hebert."

Then she fired.

I almost smirked and didn't bother to dodge. Like a mere crossbow bolt would do anything to me, with Avalon making me invincible.

" _No!_ " Emma screamed and tackled me. I fell down to the porch wood and Emma fell on top of me.

My eyes widened and I stared uncomprehendingly at the scene.

"I-I'm sorry, T-Taylor…looks like…I c-can't give your best friend back…to you after all," she said in between feeble gasps, clutching the bolt that pierced straight through her chest and came out the other end.

" _Emma!_ " Two voices screamed in unison.

O O O

A/N: Next time on Phantasmic Forge, Exclusive Interview with Greg Veder, banned PHO whistleblower revealing the truth of the Brockton Bay Conspiracy! Stay tuned!


	10. Honour 2-2

**Honour 2.2**

"No…why? I would've been fine! _Why did you take the hit_?!" I screamed hysterically.

A strange feeling overtook me.

In that moment, I realized something.

To forgive is to relieve oneself of burden, to love is to take the burden of another unto oneself.

I had thought I did myself a favour by forgiving Emma, to let go of all my pain and anger, to let my memory of my once best friend be a source of strength rather than a reminder of all that I had lost.

I wanted to be free of the weight that brought me low during the year of bullying. I thought to be the better person, because justice was not about obtaining revenge but giving peace to the wronged. So I forgave her and I meant it.

And I realized then, seeing Emma dying in my arms, that my forgiveness was an empty thing.

I would never have treated her the same again. I would have had my peace of mind, but I couldn't have trusted her like I did before, and I would have felt like she owed me something still.

My words to her weren't only for her ears, but my own as well.

 _You owe me this much, don't you think?_

But no, that was wrong!

She didn't have to owe me.

She didn't have to protect me.

She didn't have to **_die for me_** _._

"…been fine?" she gasped. "Ah…right, c-cape…I'm so use…less…so weak…"

How could I have been so stupid? I had been arrogant, believing that I was invincible, that Shadow Stalker couldn't possibly do anything to me with my defenses, but I had just been reminded by King Artoria that there were things that power couldn't solve!

I couldn't revive the dead!

My power meant nothing if I couldn't protect the people I loved!

"Don't say anymore, Emma, you're not weak. You're strong, and you'll live through this. I'll save you, I promise!" I clutched her shakily and shifted her to the side, careful to avoid further moving the bolt lodged in her chest.

I glared over at Sophia, who was still looking blankly at Emma.

"Are you going to try and kill me still?"

My question seemed to bring her out of her daze.

"Y-you! This is your fault! That bolt was meant for you!"

"My fault? You think it's _my_ fault that _you_ fired that bolt?" I asked with not a little anger. I could accept my own failure to protect Emma, but how dare she act like she had no blame in it?

"Of course. Once you're dead, I'll make sure to report how you Mastered me into killing Emma because I found you in the process of using your Master abilities. But because you didn't have enough time to influence me, I was able to snap out of it from the shock and put you down." She calmly reloaded her crossbow as she spoke.

I was stunned listening to her.

"What? Emma's still alive!"

"Shut up! It's all your fault that I had to kill her! It's all your fault! If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been kicked off the track team or suspended from patrolling! You should've just died quietly in the locker and nobody would have missed you!"

"You've…gone mad!" My hand slipped into my shirt and grabbed onto the hidden dagger.

Sophia turned shadow and closed the distance in a fraction of a second, firing at near point blank range with a bolt from each of her crossbows.

I barely had a chance to react before the two shadowed bolts slammed into my chest. They came to a full stop and dropped to the ground without piercing my clothes, however, my Arrow Protection Amulet blocking them as expected.

Sophia didn't lose a beat and immediately retreated back upon seeing the failed attacks.

"I knew it. You _are_ a cape, not some bullshit blessed saint."

"Sophia, I don't have time for this, Emma needs help right now! You have three seconds to back down before I put an end to this."

As I took the Noble Phantasm out, my simmering anger came back in force. Emma's bloody injury and pale face flashed through my mind. I knew this was the item's influence, but this time I was conscious of it, and I accepted that for Emma's sake, I would be willing to use this power and pay its price.

Shadow Stalker merely crossed her arms and reloaded the two custom rapid-fire crossbows simultaneously using her elbows as anchor points. She turned shadow again and dashed around, almost faster than I could track, firing a bolt from the left.

I had only just turned towards her when she jumped away again, and the bolt slammed into my anti-projectile defense uselessly once again.

I unsheathed the dagger and shouted, "This is your last warning, Stalker! Don't make me do this!"

But the only answer I got was a bolt hitting me in the back in my blind-spot, blocked again. She must have been testing if my protection worked without sight. Sadly for her, it was an automatic defense, and with the amount of kinetic force imparted by these bolts, it would probably take hundreds of shots before the amulet broke.

"Fuck!" I heard her from behind me.

I held tightly onto the hilt of my dagger and made my decision, turning into her with a dash.

She had thrown away the two crossbows and taken out two daggers of her own, charging at me in shadow form.

The world seemed to slow down again, just like when I used the sling, and I suddenly knew the right way to dodge and counterattack.

— _Carnwennan: Synchronization 52%_

I maneuvred lightly to the side and kept the forward momentum, my dagger trailing, right in the path of Shadow Stalker, She saw my move as well, however, and twisted, barely avoiding the blade in her path and tumbling down to the ground past me.

To her credit, the fall gave me no opening, as she bounced off it with a fist when her shadow form dropped her weight to almost nothing, and she bounced again off the railing just as I was turning back to face her.

As Emma's still body on the ground came into my view, I determined to finish this quickly before she could be caught in the fight.

Shadow Stalker flew towards me again and I held my ground, allowing her dagger to sink into my abdomen. I grabbed her wrist before she could let go and slashed my own dagger towards her.

She shifted immediately into shadow to avoid the hit, but how could Carnwennan be avoided so easily?

This was a blade that could control shadows, cutting a shadow was nothing compared to its real power!

The dagger sliced through and she screamed as her body was split into two. The two sides attempted to merge back together but it was painfully slow.

I slashed at her several more times, cutting the mass of shadow into pieces. Her scream ended and the mass was dispersed into mere tendrils that slowly tried to drift together.

I sheathed my dagger and put it away, and took Emma with me inside the house without another glance at what remained of Shadow Stalker.

O O O

 _"Give it back," Taylor's voice was quiet, but level._

 _"Give what back?"_

 _"You guys broke into my locker. You took my flute. It's something my mom left me, something she used, that my dad gave to me so I could remember her. Just… if you've decided you hate me, if I said the wrong thing, or led you to believe something that wasn't true, okay. But don't do that to my mom. She was good to you. Don't disrespect her memory."_

 _"If it was so valuable to you, then you shouldn't have brought it."_

 _Taylor didn't speak for long seconds. "Can you blame me? Since school started, you've been… after me. As if you're trying to make a point or something. Except I don't know what it is."_

 _"The point is that you're a loser."_

 _Taylor wasn't able to keep the emotion off her face. "…Even if it's just a flute and a memory, maybe I wanted to feel like I had some backup here. I thought you were better than that, screwing with me on that level."_

 _"I guess you're wrong," Emma replied. She let the words sit for a few seconds, then added, "Doesn't look like she's offering you any backup at all."_

 _She fell silent._

 _Emma had mused, back in the week she'd been reeling from her near-miss with death or disfigurement, that there were moments that changed destinies, that altered people's trajectories in life. Some were small, the changes minor, others large to the point they were irreversible. It was so easy, just to utter the words, and the reaction was so profound. A mixture of emotions that briefly stripped Taylor bare, revealed everything in a series of changing facial expressions._

 _She didn't enjoy it. Didn't revel in it. But it was… reassuring? The world made sense. Predators and prey. Attackers and victims. It was like a drug, only she'd never experienced the high, the pure joy of it. There was only the withdrawal, the need for a hit just to get centered again._

Fight back, get angry, hit me _._

Challenge me _._

 _It took Taylor long seconds to get her mental footing._

 _"You're wrong. She's right here."_

 _Emma's thought processes came to a halt. Had Taylor gone insane?_

 _Taylor's postured straightened, and she slowly moved her right hand upwards, pointing a finger at her heart._

 _"She's right here." She stared resolutely into Emma's eyes. "She lives on in my heart, and her memory gives me strength."_

That wasn't what I meant, _Emma thought._

 _She felt irrationally angry, annoyed, and couldn't put her finger on why. But Taylor didn't give her a chance to muse on it._

 _"Just like the memory of my best friend gives me strength. She still lives on in my heart, and I know she lives on in yours as well."_

 _"What…don't be stupid! The old Emma was weak, and she's gone! What do you know about strength?"_

 _"I know that it was you that gave me the strength to keep going when my mom died. I know that you were my sister in all but blood for years. I know that even now, I think of you as my best friend, and you think the same of me. That's why you've been after me, and not anybody else. I know the old Emma is still in there—"_

 _"No! Y-you're delusional!" She ran off without giving a proper retort._

 _It took her a minute to find Sophia, not helped by the fact that the two of them had classes on opposite sides of the building._

 _Sophia was putting coins into the vending machine. She looked up at Emma. "What?"_

 _"Did you break into her locker?"_

 _"Yeah."_

 _"Stole a flute?"_

 _"Yeah."_

 _"Where is it?"_

 _Sophia took it out from her sleeve. "Here." She tossed it over._

 _Emma caught it and put on a smile. "She just came to me all depressed and angry about it. It was her mom's flute, you know?"_

 _Sophia grabbed her drink from the machine and popped the lid. "Yeah? What'd she bring it for?"_

 _"I don't know," Emma lied. "But it's a nice flute. I think I'll keep it. Better me than her, she'd probably lose it anyway. It'd be a shame for Mrs. Hebert's last memory to be lost like that."_

 _Sophia raised an eye. "You were close to her mom?"_

 _"A little bit. She was strong. A predator, like us. Don't know why Taylor is such a loser when her mom was so cool."_

O O O

As I lifted Emma onto my couch, something slid out of her shirt.

My mom's flute.

"Emma…you…" I choked out the words before my voice broke down. Emma's lips moved slightly as she looked at me but she was too weak to say anything.

"Hang on, I'll save you, just hang on!" I rushed to the phone and called the emergency number for an ambulance.

" _All operators are currently busy. We apologize for the inconvenience._ "

What? Busy? But this was the emergency line, how could it be busy?

I had to stabilize her then. But how? I didn't know any medical procedures.

I rushed upstairs to grab the Bracelet of Healing.

O O O

 _She looked out the window at the passing houses in consternation._

 _It had been so close today, but it all went wrong in the end._

 _Sophia kept insisting that Taylor was weak, but Emma knew better. All she had to do was help Taylor prove that she was a predator._

 _It had taken more than a year of pushing, but Taylor had been starting to fight back little by little. When she first got back from the hospital, at first Emma was disappointed that she had really gone insane. She was distant and unresponsive to anything for almost two weeks._

 _Then suddenly the life came back into her, her posture was more confident, her eyes were filled with determination, her grades started climbing back up despite the assignments they stole from her._

 _Sometimes Emma had the fleeting thought that maybe, just maybe, Taylor had triggered from the locker. It was fanciful, she knew, but that would surely prove that Taylor was strong, as strong as Sophia, and they could put their argument to rest._

 _Today Taylor was almost a different person. After hearing all the rumors flying around, and seeing Taylor for herself, so much like she'd always imagined her to be, Emma thought for sure that today was the day everything would fall into place._

 _She was so brave, defending herself from their insults and even challenging Sophia directly…but then Sophia overreacted and punched her while a teacher was nearby._

 _When they got home, her mom faced her with a stony expression. Nobody else was home._

" _You lied to me!" Her mom yelled._

 _Then she felt a stinging sensation on her cheeks. She held a hand to her skin and turned slowly to look at her furious mom in shock._

 _"You said you drifted apart. You said Taylor didn't want to see us anymore! You told me you didn't hang out with her anymore and didn't know who put her in the locker!"_

 _"Mom, I—"_

 _"You lied to me! Do you know what Ms. Knott told me she suspected? This wasn't the first time you've been bullying her! Not the first time, just the first time she saw it with her own eyes! You've been lying to me and_ bullying _Taylor and hiding it! And you're one of the ringleaders in all this! A ringleader, leading a bullying campaign against her best friend!"_

 _Emma found herself unable to speak. She had never seen her mom so angry before._

 _"Emma Barnes. You will tell me the truth. Did you participate in the locker prank that sent Taylor to the hospital?"_

 _She paused for several long seconds. Then she sniffed and started crying. "Yes," Emma mumbled._

 _Zoe Barnes stood there watching Emma cry for a whole minute without saying a word._

 _"You're grounded. When your dad gets back from work, you're going to explain everything. Until then, you're going to reflect on your actions, and you're going to stay in the living room where I can see you."_

O O O

I put the Bracelet on her, but as expected, nothing visible happened. The Bracelet wasn't capable of healing such severe wounds quickly. The blood was already soaked into the couch and Emma was getting really pale.

"Damn, I won't let you die!"

But what could I do?

Avalon could heal this, couldn't it?

I held out my hand and imagined the blessed sheath gathering.

Nothing happened.

"No…why? Avalon! Come out!"

There was no response.

The voice of King Artoria suddenly sounded in my mind.

" _I am sorry Taylor. I accepted you as the heir to Avalon, but the Faeries have not given you their blessing. Until you gain the right to access its true power, the only person Avalon can heal is you."_

I couldn't believe it. What would I have to do to receive the blessing of the Faeries then?

 _"That is not for me to say. When the time is right…the Lady of the Lake shall summon you herself."_

"I don't understand…when will the time be right?! Emma's about to die! Please...there has to be a way!" I shouted out loud.

The flute rolled towards the edge of the couch. I grabbed it before it could fall off and—

O O O

 _The TV screen flashed. Emma sat alone on the couch watching the program. Her mom had left to pick up Anne earlier._

 _"We are here for an exclusive interview with Greg Veder, a friend and classmate of the girl that many are calling a prophet. Thank you Greg for agreeing to answer our questions, we are now live."_

 _"I'm very, very happy to be able to speak to you here. I have really important things to say, and I've been banned from PHO because they don't want me to tell the truth. This isn't the first time I've been banned, they do it every time I post something they don't want the public to know, but this time I've been IP banned and you have no idea how glad I was that you guys are willing to hear me out, because this is really serious and really, really big, and I can't let them hide this."_

 _"And we're very happy to have you, Greg. We won't be censoring anybody here, and I'm sure our viewers are very curious to know what you have say. Here's my first question then: how long have you known Taylor?"_

 _"Years. I knew her since middle school. We weren't extremely close but I've done more than a few projects with her and I know exactly what happened to her when high school started, I know the truth that Winslow is hiding, and I know exactly who's been responsible for all the lies."_

 _"What happened, Greg, what is Winslow hiding?"_

 _"Taylor was a top student in middle school. She was so good she got offered a full scholarship to Arcadia. I don't know why she came to Winslow with the rest of us, but she did and when she did it was awful. Since the first day of school she's been the target of a vicious bullying campaign. She's been beat up, got her assignments stolen, called names every hour of the day, and way more. So many students are in on it that nobody ever reports it, and the teachers that see it don't do anything. It's all a cover up. And I'm so ashamed that I was one of the people who watched without doing anything, I saw what happened in January and I just hid like a coward but I can't take it anymore. I know the truth now and I have to speak up."_

 _"What happened in January?"_

 _"It was so bad. Like, you can't even imagine this happening in a school but it did. They got a lot of used tampons and all sorts of disgusting trash, stuffed it in her locker to fester over the winter break, and then when we came back, they forced her into the locker and left her to die, and nobody did anything to stop them."_

 _"Oh my god! That's horrible!"_

 _"She died in there, you know? She died in there. She was in there for 6 hours, 9AM to 3PM, the entire school day, just like Jesus was on the cross for 6 hours. When the janitor let her out she was already dead. The hospital and the school say she wasn't, but they're lying. They were trying to cover their asses because none of the students came forward and they didn't find who did it. She suffered the school's taunts and torture for a year and a half, but she took it all without batting an eye. Anyone else would have gone crazy, but she was too strong. Until she was put in that locker and she died for all of our sins, and like Jesus on the third day she came back to life."_

 _"That's incredible! She really died and came back to life?"_

 _"Yes, I know how crazy it sounds but it's true. And all the other students, the hospital and the school tried to cover it up, but I know what happened. They tried to call her a psycho, put her in the psychiatric ward for a week. All lies. Even today, the other girls were making up stories about how she got plastic surgery over the weekend. It's like—I don't even know why they do it, it's so stupid. She's always been the most beautiful girl in the school, they're just jealous and full of hate."_

 _"How could this still be happening?"_

 _"I don't know why they're covering it up, but I know why Taylor hasn't done anything to them. She could do it so easily, but she won't."_

 _"Why?"_

 _"There are three girls leading the bullying campaign. Sophia Hess, Emma Barnes, and Madison Clements. But one of them, Emma Barnes, used to be her best friend. Taylor wants to redeem her, to save her. To save all of us."_

Redeem me? _Emma thought as she clutched the flute in her hands._

—I know the old Emma is still in there

 _She's just too kind, too good for us. W-we don't d-deserve her," said Greg with a few sniffs, his eyes red and tears were beginning to fall. "You know Sophia Hess, the one that pushed her into the locker, who does all the worst things, she's black. If it were any other girl, they would have hated her and joined the E88. But not T-Taylor. Even after all her suffering, she's still trying to save everyone. [beep], she didn't even kill Hookwolf!"_

 _"That's, r-really amazing…" The reporter said, trailing off as her own eyes teared up._

" _Taylor…" Emma whispered, hugging the flute to her chest. "I'm such an idiot, why…? All this time…you were…and I…"_

 _The reported gulped and wiped her eyes before continuing. "Do-do you have any idea who's covering it up?"_

 _"Yeah, I do. It's the PRT. There's no other explanation. They're the only ones that can control PHO. That's why they keep banning me when I post about the conspiracy. For some reason, they want Brockton Bay to be taken over by the villains. They won't send enough cape heroes here to make a real difference, and our villains always coincidentally escape when they're…"_

 _The words started warping and she started to have trouble understanding them._

 _—_ You're wrong. She's right here. She lives on in my heart, and her memory gives me strength.

 _"… yEarS siNCce any vILLaiNs have bEEn cAPturED, AnD noooONe of theeee sTROong onEs ARe. LUng, KAisER, they'vvve BEeen herRRe FOrr DEcaDEs wHEN tHhe TRIUumviiiRAate couu…"_

 _The sound of a flute playing mixed with the voices from the TV._

 _She gasped for breath as her vision turned blurry. She tried to blink away the tears, but she quickly realized there weren't any more tears in her eyes, and the world was spinning._

 _A pale figure stood in front of her, covered in blood, staring mindlessly at her._

 _"…sOMe KIind offf COnspIraccY… coveeeerING uP whhhhaAt haaappnd aaa WINslooow…"_

 _She stood up shakily and looked all around in desperation. Everywhere she looked, she saw Mrs. Hebert's blank eyes staring back at her._

 _"W-what's happening?"_

 _"…bet oONne OFf thee **bullies** is seECcretly a **Ward** ward ward ward… Wards are a brAinwAsHIing proogRAaM mke fUtREe VIllAInes undERrr the PRT's paAy, ANd NoONe of TheM aRE AcTUalLy iN ARCadiA—"_

 _The room grew dim and a strange heat gnawed on her skin, like an itch that couldn't be scratched and she shivered and gasped for breath again but found she couldn't get enough air and her heart felt like it was going to explode and she grasped onto it—_

 _"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"_

 _She tripped and fell, the flute clattering to the ground and rolling away—_

 _Her vision was a blanket of dark stains—_

 _"T-Taylor…"_

 _Two rotating crystalline monoliths of spiral mirrors danced through the void, shining trails of shed tissue dropping to form an aurora of glittering dust, larger than planets and spread through dimensions, they communicated violently using words expressed with the energy of a supernova._

 **[DESTINATION]**

 **[AGREEMENT]**

 **[TRAJECTORY]**

 **[AGREEMENT]**

 _The vision faded and the world cleared. She struggled to her feet, then noticed the flute on the ground._

 _Emma picked it up, and walked out of the house._

 _"Does Emma still live on…in your heart?"_

O O O

" _Yes,_ you do!" I sobbed and touched my hand to Emma's.

 _—The Emma I knew died a long time ago. You're just a fake that stole the face of my best friend._

"I didn't mean it, Emma! I knew you were still in there! So please, you can't leave me again!"

 _Again, the knife traveled over her face, almost gentle as it touched the areas in question. "One eye, the nose, the mouth, or both ears._

 _…_

 _She shoved the handful of hair she'd cut away into Emma's mouth. "Eat it, then pick."_

 _Emma opened her mouth to plead for help, but she couldn't find the breath. The hair wasn't it, not really. Some of it was the weight of the young man sitting on her chest, crushing her under his weight. Mostly, it was the fear, like a physical thing._

...

 _The figure in black turned on Lao. She swept her cape to one side, and momentarily became a living shadow, a transparent blur. When she returned to normal, her posture was different, and the knife had disappeared from the ground. It was in her hand._

 _Emma watched in numb horror and awe as the girl advanced on Lao, who crab-walked backward to get away. She closed the distance, stretched out one arm, and delivered a single scratch with the knife, cutting into Lao's right eye._

 _…_

 _She asked the question she'd gone to such risk to pose to the girl, "Why… why did you wait? You saw me in trouble, but you didn't do a thing."_

 _"Because I wanted to see who you were."_

 _…_

 _The girl smiled. "And what you have to keep in mind, is the biggest question of all is one you're answering for yourself, right now. Survivor or victim?"_

 _…_

 _Taylor would give her sympathy, would listen to everything she had to say, give an unbiased ear to every thought, every wondering and anxiety. Emma almost couldn't bear the idea._

 _But there would be friendship too. Support. It would be so easy to reach out and take it._

 _"I love the haircut," Taylor filled the silence, talking and smiling like she couldn't contain herself. "You manage to make any style look great."_

 _Emma closed her eyes, taking a second to compose herself. Then she smiled back, though not so wide. She could feel Sophia's eyes on her._

The scenes flooded into me, mixing with my own memories.

 _"Fuck you," I snapped back. I turned to leave, but tripped over a foot that was suddenly in my way and stumbled, and I had to catch the gate for balance, almost falling._

 _I turned around, eyes wide, looking at the smirk on the other girl's face, and the blank expression on Emma's. So that was it? She just watched it happen and didn't care. Like our friendship really meant nothing._

 _I clenched my fists and ran._

…

 _The darkness was suffocating. Hours passed and nobody came to help me. I stopped struggling against the door, too tired to do any more._

 _The sound of footsteps reached my ears._

 _"Taylor, are you still in there?" Emma's voice whispered from outside the locker._

 _I must have become delusional. I was such a joke. Almost dead and I still imagined the person who put me in here coming to save me._

 _"Hey, say something, you're scaring me."_

 _Why did I ever believe that things could go back to the way they were? It was over. Our friendship was long over, and the Emma I knew was gone._

 _"Taylor, Taylor! Ugh, the smell is killing me." And like that her footsteps rapidly got further away. If the smell was killing her, she should try getting stuffed in here. It was a miracle that I wasn't delirious yet._

 _"Stupid redhead…always something…AUGH, the fuck is this smell?"_

 _No, that's not true, I was delirious already. I almost wished I could just fall unconscious already, why did I still have to hallucinate and stay awake with this pain?_

 _A clattering of metal was following by an awful screech, then the door burst open and I fell forward, the light blinding me._

 _Was it…over?_

It wasn't over.

"I won't give up, not this time!"

I broke one end of the bolt and tore it out of Emma. She screamed in pain.

Then I unsheathed Carnwennan again and slashed it down.

O O O

Carnwennan - A holy dagger that belonged to King Arthur with the power to control shadows. Can reduce the user's presence. Good cutting edge. It might be small but it can slice a witch or a giant in half.

O O O

A/N: So I have gotten comments about this chapter feeling disjointed, especially with the flashbacks, which some readers apparently skimmed. The way it reads in a disjointed manner is intentional, and they were not really flashbacks in the usual sense, in which a character reminisces about the past. **The whole chapter is first-person Taylor POV** , and her experience of the events in this chapter did not happen in a fully time sequential manner.


	11. Honour 2-3

**Honour 2.3**

Blood dripped down from my forearm and onto Emma's open wound.

"What…are you…doing?" Emma struggled to speak, her voice weak with a hole in her lungs.

"I'm saving you." I didn't bother to explain more. Time was of the essence.

Next I moved away from Emma and reactivated Avalon across the room.

As I hoped, my blood on Emma didn't fly back into my wound. The wound simply healed itself. I rushed to grab the emergency first aid kit in the house and other medical supplies.

There was a risk that I was wrong, because the first time I had experimented with this, the blood on my skin immediately reverted directions and was resealed in the wound, but that was while it was in my immediate vicinity.

Yet after having used several Noble Phantasms, I had realized that they seemed to work on a conceptual basis, not on a physical basis. Their limitations and capabilities seemed somewhat arbitrary to me, because they didn't work by any physical mechanism of action. For example, how did Hamesh Avanim Shl Qela know the "weak point" of any opponent that would allow them to be knocked unconscious? The same was true for the E-Rank magic items, like the Water Ring of Protection that disperses kinetic energy from water jets but not the thermal energy of hot water.

And Faeries were apparently real.

That led me to the realization, that just because it healed me that one time by drawing the blood back in, it didn't mean that Avalon _needed_ the damaged part of me to heal me back to perfect health. Considering that it kept my body running in an optimal state without requiring any more food – actually, now that I thought of it, I hadn't felt hungry since I got Avalon, I just kept eating out of habit – it must not need any physical inputs to the healing process.

I quickly dressed the wound and bandaged it to prevent further blood loss. Next I used my home blood transfusion kit to start transfusing my blood to Emma.

It was lucky that I happened to have this transfusion kit, which I had gotten shortly after discovering my powers. The vast majority of the rituals for forging Noble Phantasms require my blood in varying amounts, so instead of cutting myself and letting blood out dangerously, I got the kit to make the process safer for me, and more easily hidden from dad.

It was even luckier that I knew my blood type was compatible with Emma.

"Why are you going so far to save me…after everything I did?" Emma asked, her voice more stable now that her lung wound was properly taken care of.

"I just got my best friend back. How can I just let you die? Besides, this is nothing, losing blood isn't a problem for me like it is for you. I'll just heal in a few minutes once you have enough blood."

"Thank you, Taylor." Her face was so peaceful now, nothing like the vicious monster that tormented at school.

O O O

After a few minutes Emma fell asleep, and I carried her up to my bed.

I equipped her with a full set of E-rank accessory items except the three useless magic foci, just in case.

I had to be sure of safety, but on the other hand I couldn't simply stay and guard her because I knew that the situation outside could be very bad. I already knew from King Artoria's advice and the emergency line not working that major events were happening in the city, primarily because of what I did in the afternoon. I had to go out there and fix things.

So I geared myself up, this time in my actual cape costume. But it wasn't just a costume. It was a full E-rank knight armor set, which included a helmet, gauntlets, plate armor, and greaves. I also had an E-rank sword and shield.

For ranged weaponry, I did make a bow and set of arrows, but as I had no archery training, that was currently useless to me, so I didn't bother equipping it.

There were many legendary armour sets and shields I could have made at a higher Rank, but I simply didn't have the time to make those, nor did I think that I really needed them given that I had Avalon.

The main reason I made these was to conceal the extent of my healing abilities and the nature of my accessories' protective powers.

The E-rank armour set functioned almost like power armour. Not only was it very durable, it negated impact damage from blunt trauma and didn't feel like it weighed much, so I could still move freely. But because it covered my whole body, my opponents wouldn't see how any of my other protections and healing worked.

Hamesh Avanim Shl Qela…I carried it with me just in case but I wasn't quite ready to use that weapon again…even if the restriction on wearing armour was gone.

I snuck out through the backyard while using Carnwennan's ability to conceal my presence, and rounded about to the front door to check on Shadow Stalker.

To my surprise, I found a group of PRT troops surrounding my house, with Shadow Stalker nowhere to be seen.

That didn't bode well for my reputation. I had the urge to leave immediately, but Emma was still in the house. I sighed and decided that I needed to meet with the PRT and explain some things.

O O O

I snuck back in and deactivated Carnwennan's presence concealment before walking out the front door.

I don't know what I was expecting, maybe all the troops training their weapons on me, or at least some kind of standoff, but certainly not…

"Are you Taylor Hebert?" A PRT officer walked up to me calmly.

Since my identity was blown already, I didn't dispute him.

"Yes, I am but I am in costume now, so please call me Phantasia. What brings you here?" I took off my helmet and held it against my side to prove my identity. I chose the name Phantasia because what my power did was similar to bringing fantasy into reality, yet it gave no real hint as to how my power worked. I contemplated using Phantasm as well because I forge Noble Phantasms, but I thought that the illusory connotations of Phantasm were less desirable for a heroic figure compared to Phantasia, which means imagination. They were almost the same, but Phantasia sounded more…positive.

The officer nodded to me. "We were stationed here for your protection. I am Officer Williams." He held out an ID card for my inspection.

"For my protection? What's going on?"

"With your actions earlier today, there's a strong chance that the Empire 88 will try to retaliate against you, not to mention extremists that might target you for religious reasons. There are also many who suspect you are a cape, and new independent capes are always at risk of being targeted by the gangs. Speaking of which… _are_ you a cape?" He made a show of looking up and down at my equipment.

I kept my expression neutral as I listened to his explanation. I didn't believe that was the whole story. If they really just wanted to protect me, they would have done so without being so obvious. My address wasn't exactly public information, and it would at least take a little effort to find it, but with them camping outside, my enemies would know exactly where I was. More importantly, what were a bunch of unpowered PRT troopers going to do against supervillains?

"I am a cape, a hero, to be precise. Did you see Shadow Stalker here?"

He grimaced. "Yes, we did. We apologize for her actions, I assure you her attack on you was unauthorized, and she is currently in custody pending investigation."

I read between the lines and realized that they must have somehow seen what happened earlier. They already had me under surveillance or a neighbour recorded it.

That was, disconcerting, but I couldn't really blame them for it. It was good enough that they didn't accuse me of being a Master…yet.

"Well, thank you for protecting me. But I can't stay here, I am a hero and there are people that need my help," I said.

"Don't be so stiff, we aren't going to stop you. Lord knows the city needs more heroes in action right now."

I inwardly sighed in relief. Then I had an idea.

"You can get in contact with PRT HQ, right? Can you give me a rundown of what's happening in the city?"

O O O

In the end, I handed Emma over to PRT medical personnel for treatment, and left with the group of PRT troopers.

There were currently several ongoing battles across the city between Lung, Empire 88, and Protectorate heroes. Oni Lee and Bakuda, a new ABB cape were holding several E88 members hostage, while the Wards had been primarily assigned to deal with the civilian rioting and search and rescue for areas affected by Bakuda's bombing. The Merchants were also looting in the confusion with unpowered PRT troopers trying to deal with them as best as they could with some support from the Wards and Assault.

The situation was clear. The place that needed me most was the hostage situation with Oni Lee and Bakuda. Not only were there no Protectorate heroes available to deal with it, it would be very bad for me if people took cues from Bakuda and started more violence against the E88 in the name of God and me.

And because of the crowd, it would also be my best opportunity for a proper cape debut to correct the misunderstandings from the things I said and did when David's personality took me over.

Armsmaster and Velocity had broken off from their fights to come deal with Bakuda, but I arrived first to rendezvous with the ranking PRT officer on the scene.

"Phantasia." He nodded at me. "I'm glad we have your help today. I am Commander Calvert."

We were just around the corner hiding from Bakuda and Oni Lee.

"Because Bakuda has bombs strapped to the victims being held hostage, we don't have any effective means of engaging Bakuda and Oni Lee without endangering the hostages. Armsmaster and Velocity are currently en route, and hopefully Armsmaster can develop a way of disabling the bombs before we engage. They should arrive in a few minutes." Calvert informed me of the situation.

I thought about it for a moment, and decided it was best to follow the PRT's lead for now. I had my own way of disabling the bombs, but I was the newbie here and had only been in a single cape fight.

O O O

Armsmaster and Velocity arrived.

"Armsmaster, Velocity, I'm here to help in any way I can," I said.

Armsmaster nodded. "Phantasia, we were informed of your participation. Thank you for joining us on this operation."

"A new hero is always welcome," said Velocity.

"According to our intel, Bakuda's bombs have many exotic effects, getting hit by any one of them would be very dangerous. We have already seen pain bombs, time stop, gravity, and glass transmutation. Our objective is to disable the bombs attached to the hostages and the capture of Bakuda and Oni Lee. The biggest threat in this fight will be Oni Lee, who has switched from suiciding bombing with grenades to using Bakuda's exotic bombs. I have a device prepared that can disable the bomb detonation signals once it is within two metres. The plan is for Velocity to take the device to the hostages, activate it, and secure the hostages with the troopers, while Phantasia and I fight off Oni Lee and Bakuda." Armsmaster said.

I raised my hand.

"Yes, Phantasia?"

"Are we going to free the E88 capes to let them join the fight against ABB or capture them when we disable the bombs?" I asked.

"Good question. Ideally we would capture them, but it may not be possible to do so. Our priority is to prevent loss of life, especially Othala, a valuable healer, and Rune, a teenager," said Armsmaster.

I nodded in understanding, relieved that the PRT weren't going to stubbornly try to apprehend all criminals when it was more important to save lives.

"Before we begin, Phantasia, I need to know your capabilities to coordinate the fight."

"I'm pretty durable in this armour against many forms of damage, including piercing, cutting, heat, water, wind, vacuum, acid, and my blade edge can cut through almost anything. The armour doesn't slow me down either. I also have a few other tricks…but they're mostly untested so I wouldn't rely on them." I decided not to elaborate on the sling's power as I wasn't planning to use it. Carnwennan's presence concealment ability I wasn't planning to reveal to anyone, and its power to control shadows I simply didn't know how to use yet.

Armsmaster was quiet for a moment as he stared at me.

"I'm not detecting any power signatures from your armour. Did you turn it off to conserve energy?"

"Uh…this isn't power armour. It's more like…enchanted."

"Are you saying you applied a Striker effect to your armour? You're not a Tinker, then?" said Armsmaster.

I barely stifled a chuckle. Then I seriously tried to figure out how to explain this in scientific way. "No, I mean…the defensiveness and weight of the armour are its intrinsic properties, not functions, so it doesn't need any energy to work. Like I said, it's easier to just think of it as being enchanted." That was one of those things I didn't quite understand about my power. The armours and weapons I made didn't run out of "power" ever, while the accessory items did stop working after being used too many times.

Velocity did laugh. "You have magic armour? So that's why you're called Phantasia!"

"So you're an exotic physics Tinker," said Armsmaster.

I tilted my head. "Kind of?"

Satisfied, Armsmaster nodded and declared, "When we attack, you can go after Bakuda. Your Tinker specialty is similar to hers, while my combat algorithms will be more effective against Oni Lee. If we're all ready, let's begin the operation."

O O O

 _The Noble Phantasms and Forged Artifacts Information Sheet has been updated._


	12. Honour 2-4

**Honour 2.4**

We moved into position while Armsmaster prepared his device for delivery. It wasn't a counter to all of Bakuda's bombs. It was just a temporary way to jam the detonation signals for the bombs strapped to the victims, so it had to be carefully used, because we had only one attempt at this.

I was given an earpiece to stay in contact with the PRT, and hid by myself behind a nearby warehouse.

I activated Carnwennan and glanced at the scene of Bakuda laughing while encouraging people from the crowd.

A young Asian man was holding a remote control hesitatingly. The crowd was mesmerized as Bakuda gave him instructions.

"Come on, press the button! Punish these racist scum!" She shouted.

He held the remote forward and looked at the moaning E88 members with a peculiar expression, as if in a daze.

"Do it!" Bakuda shouted again and slapped down on his shoulder.

He jolted and at the touch and pressed down.

Shrill screams rang through air as the victims spasmed.

My hand clutching the white hilt of Carnwennan shook. The agonized expressions on Victor, Othala, and Rune's face burned themselves into my mind.

"Good, this is justice!" said Bakuda. No, no it wasn't.

Even if they were criminals, there was no justice in torturing them. There was no honour in fostering hate. How was Bakuda any different now from Hookwolf who had organized the beatings of those innocent people?

"Justice!" A rallying cry was repeated by someone in the crowd.

My breath hitched in my throat.

"Justice!" Slowly the crowd started to repeat it. The man with the remote looked at the crowd who cheered him. Emboldened, he pressed down again.

"This is justice, you fucking white trash! This is for my brother that you beat to death!"

Another wave of screams erupted.

No, this was wrong! Was it really so easy for normal people to become monstrous?

I felt as though the air grew heavy and my whole vision was cast in shadow, yet my sight grew ever clearer.

— _Carnwennan: Synchronization 58%_

Dusk fell upon the docks as the sun retreated for the night.

I took a step forward almost involuntarily.

" _Now!_ " Armsmaster said in my earpiece.

Suddenly a blur moved beside the victims and the screams died down. Almost faster than the eye could perceive, the blur went from person to person, cutting off the straps tying down the bombs. None of the hostages reacted except by groaning. They had been overwhelmed by the torture.

Simultaneously, two PRT armoured vehicles drove around the corner and PRT troops began shooting foam grenades towards Bakuda.

"What took you so long, PRT?" Bakuda didn't seem surprised at all. "Don't think you can stop my bombs that easily!"

" _Get out of there Velocity!"_ Armsmaster's voice shouted again.

In the next moment, Armsmaster charged in on his bike and aimed his halberd toward the group of victims.

Oni Lee suddenly appeared right next to the blur and released a bomb, which was hit by a projectile fired by Armsmaster and blasted away. Less than ten metres away, the bomb exploded and the area around it was covered in a grey tint. A few E88 members were caught in the blast, but nothing else visibly happened.

Then I saw Velocity move into the range of the blast and his blur seemed to slow down as he grabbed two E88 members before moving back out.

It was a time stop bomb, gradually slowing down until time froze in that section.

Another Oni Lee appeared beside the first one, unleashing another bomb, which was again blasted away by Armsmaster.

Meanwhile, Bakuda threw a bomb in front of her towards the foam grenades as she ran in the opposite direction, which was coincidentally towards me.

The bomb she threw exploded in the air and all of the foam grenades were sucked into it. More and more objects and debris from the ground were sucked towards the source of explosion and I felt a suction force even from my position.

The crowds started screaming and running off in every direction as the PRT troopers pressed forward.

I sheathed Carnwennan and removed its cloaking effect, then dashed out towards Bakuda at full speed with my shield in front.

"Who the fuck are you?"

She launched a couple of grenades my way before turning away. By instinct, I kept dashing straight at her past the grenades, which exploded behind me. I felt the energy of my Ring of Earth Protection drop a bit, finally answering the question I had about its true purpose, as the ground crystalized into glass.

She glanced back at me, then, yelled, "What the fuck? Why aren't you glass?"

"Your little tricks aren't going to work on me, Bakuda!" I called back, closing the distance rapidly.

"Go to hell!"

She suddenly lunged toward the ground.

Everything went white. When my vision cleared in the next instant, I was falling down, a huge explosion having engulfed my previous position and blasted me several metres into the air. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Oni Lee switch tactics and unleash six clones surrounding Armsmaster, while PRT troopers were already taking up defensive positions around the hostages preparing to transport them.

I crashed back to the earth with a clang, but was otherwise unhurt. Not even the momentum of the impact transferred through to my body inside the armour, as the damage was literally negated.

As I got up, the dust from the explosion made it hard to see what was going on.

" _Are you alright, Phantasia?_ " Velocity asked.

"Yeah, I'm not hurt. But I can't see anything with all this dust."

Armsmaster's voice cut in. " _Retreat! Retreat! The whole place is going to—_ "

Then an excruciating pain hit me, as if every part of my body was on fire and a thousand needles were stabbed into my internal organs.

I collapsed instantly.

" _Ph—a! V—l—ty! sfhiofweqD"_ I heard a bunch of overlapping voices in my earpiece but it all sounded like garble.

A loud and distorted laughter filled my ears. I struggled to move upright, but my muscles didn't seem to be responding.

"So loOng, heROs! Enjoy the r—st of et—n—ty!"

After that, there was only silence.

As my mind cleared, I noticed the Ring of Earth Protection was still actively draining power and fast. I would have maybe two minutes before it ran out completely.

I forced myself up, and soon Avalon removed the lingering aches from the pain bomb. The dust had also cleared, and I looked around.

What I saw was a world frozen in time. Random debris was stuck in the air, clouds of dust were hanging about like walls.

Then I saw it.

Two copies of Oni Lee, one in the middle of a throwing motion, the other partially glass, engulfed by a bomb that was stopped in the middle of expanding.

And not far away from them was Armsmaster carrying an unconscious Velocity, frozen in the motion of firing the hook on one of his halberds.

I rushed over and tried to grab them to no avail. Their bodies didn't budge in the slightest.

"Ar **ms** m **a** s **t** er! **Ve** l **oci** ty!" I screamed.

— _Carnwennan: Synchronization 65%_

My voice sounded alien to me, distorted. The world was unnaturally silent, the only sounds that could be heard came from inside my own body. All other particles were in stasis, unable to transmit sound waves.

I continued struggling with all my strength, and they still didn't move.

"Ho **w cou** ld t **his** ha **ppe** n…?" I muttered.

Two heroes lost, just like that? To a Tinker I'd never even heard of before today.

Here was _Armsmaster_ , leader of the local Protectorate, one of the best Tinkers in the world, trapped, possibly forever.

I heard of something like this before. Grey Boy bubbles. Victims who were stuck in an endless time loop, with no way out. If this was similar…

I looked around again and didn't see where the boundary of this frozen space ended. As far as my eye could see, everything was still. PRT troopers carrying the E88 capes and victims, the PRT vehicles, random people who hadn't run far enough away earlier, they were all frozen.

Even far away in the distance, I could see nothing that moved. Birds in the sky too were unmoving in the air.

But that didn't make sense. Bakuda couldn't have made a bomb whose range extended to such a ridiculous area. She would have to at least escape as well, and unless she had a way of teleporting, she couldn't have gone very far before setting off the bomb.

The world outside must have only looked still to me because I was inside the time stop zone.

I picked a direction and ran before my own protection expired.

— _So loOng, heROs! Enjoy the r—st of et—n—ty!_

The laughter of the villain who caused this echoed in my mind.

I ran past the frozen debris, the frozen PRT troopers, and the frozen E88 victims.

— _Carnwennan: Synchronization 71%_

Some of them, I felt little sympathy for. They were criminals, even if they didn't quite deserve this fate.

But there were innocent people trapped here.

There were _heroes_ trapped here. And not just cape heroes, but unpowered heroes who sacrificed themselves despite the overwhelming odds against them.

Unlike me, who waited months to stack up all the possible defenses I could get to ensure my safety before even trying help out.

People admired me for standing up to Hookwolf, some even started worshipping me for it, but they didn't know the truth.

They saw a normal teenage girl with a sling fighting a monster covered in blades. Wasn't she scared of being torn to shreds, they must have wondered.

They called me brave, but they didn't know that I was hardly in any danger, didn't know that in my hands was a sling that couldn't miss.

If they knew the extent of my powers, what would they think then?

If they knew that I refused to use Hamesh Avanim Shl Qela because I was afraid of being taken over—

If they knew that I held back against Bakuda, not using Carnwennan because I wanted to keep its Stranger powers secret—

 _If I hadn't been such a selfish coward, Armsmaster, Velocity, and all the PRT troopers would still be alive._

— _Carnwennan: Synchronization 80%_

O O O

Piggot slammed her fist on her desk.

"What is going on?! Somebody answer me!"

Her video feed had cut out when Bakuda unleashed some kind of EMP bomb at the beginning of the battle. Radio comms was restored quickly as the equipment wasn't actually fried unlike a conventional gamma pulse, but video and tactical signals remained down.

The continuous reporting from Calvert had kept her up to date. They had removed the bombs threatening the hostages, but Oni Lee had the upper hand against both Armsmaster and Velocity. With his use of Bakuda's bombs, his offensive power had risen to a whole new level.

Phantasia had survived unharmed against a glassification bomb and a large conventional explosion, but Bakuda still eluded her.

Then she heard Armsmaster's panicked order to retreat and there was silence.

After a minute of deep dread, Calvert's voice came through again in between gasps for air.

" _Director…hah…we lost…them._ "

"Lost them? What do you mean?"

" _She…got them all. Time stop on the whole area. All her previous bombs that took effect gradually...it was a trick…this one happened instantly. Armsmaster, Velocity, Phantasia, and three-quarters of our troops are all trapped inside along with the E88 capes._ "

Her mouth opened. Then closed. Then she sagged into her seat.

" _Director?_ "

She stared blankly at the ceiling as she whispered, "We lost them…we lost…"

" _Do you have any orders for us, Director?_ "

She shook herself out of her daze and finally answered. "What about Bakuda and Oni Lee? What happened to them?"

" _They're both still here, just outside the time stop bubble._ "

Piggot looked at her tactical map of Protectorate deployments across the city.

"Retreat for now. We need to regroup and get reinforcements."

" _Understood._ "

O O O

A figure covered in white light floated beside the bubble of stopped time.

"Othala?"

Purity stared blankly, one hand touching the edge of the bubble. Although it was air, to her hand it felt like an immovable mountain.

The former E88 cape's eyes were glued to the three current E88 members who were lying unmoving within the bubble.

A shrill laughter broke her from her reverie.

"I am Bakuda! The greatest motherfucking Tinker in the world! You got that? Hahaha! Fucking Armsmaster is nothing compared to me! Make sure you record this properly, you fool!"

Purity turned to look at the source of the voice a little distance away. There stood a female cape in a gas mask and red circular goggles. Beside her stood the silent form of Oni Lee, and in front of her was a man with a camera, and a scattered group of shocked onlookers.

The cameraman stared blankly at the bubble without looking at Bakuda, his camera facing the ground.

Suddenly he melted grotesquely into a puddle of goo, the camera clattering to the ground.

"Fucking useless!" Bakuda shouted. Someone from the crowd screamed.

"Nobody fucking move or you're all dead!" The bomb Tinker yelled as some people started the motion of running away.

"You!" Bakuda pointed to an ABB member in the crowd. "Get the camera and keep filming!"

Purity gripped tightly onto the toddler corpse in her free arm and flew over, coming to a stop just five metres away from Bakuda.

"You did this?" She asked quietly, pointing to the bubble.

Bakuda took a close look at the newcomer.

"Huh. You're Purity, aren't you? Come to save your teammates? Looks like you're out of time! Hahaha, get it? You're _out_ of time!"

"Release Othala," Purity ordered.

The ABB Tinker guffawed.

"Release Othala? Are you fucking kidding me? Why the fuck would I make a bomb with an effect that can be released just like that? She ain't coming out, forever. Let me make this simple for your peanut brain. She's deader than dead."

"No, you're lying. You did this, you can fix it! Make a bomb that reverses the effect!" Purity shouted.

"Bitch, I'm fucking Bakuda, the greatest Tinker in the world. Nothing can possibly reverse the effects of my bombs!"

Purity roared and charged a beam of—

A crippling pain hit her and she collapsed.

A bomb landed beside her and exploded, releasing a black sphere. It sucked up the light from Purity for half a minute before dissipating.

The light that formed Purity's Breaker state was left very dim, and she lay unmoving on the ground, the dead baby corpse having also fallen to the side.

"Did you seriously think I would just be standing out in the open for you to hit me without any defenses?" Bakuda asked the prone cape with disdain, completely disregarding her fellow ABB cape Oni Lee who was also hit by her pain bomb and collapsed behind her. The only one who had been made immune to her pain bombs was herself.

She walked over and looked down on her latest victim. She kicked Purity over so that the other cape was facing upwards.

"I am Bakuda, the greatest motherfucking Tinker in the world! I studied every single cape in Brockton Bay and analyzed their powers, integrating the underlying principles into my bombs!"

She stepped one foot on Purity's unresponsive face, then turned to face the ABB member she ordered to resume filming.

"Behold my genius, and fear me! I am—"

A blade pierced out from her chest, disrupting her speech.

Her mouth stayed opened behind her gas mask, her head slowly turning down in disbelief.

The street was cast into total darkness.

Nothing was visible except a light being emitted from the blade piercing Bakuda, illuminating her costume for all to witness.

Little motes of white light flew up from the ground and gathered towards the blade in a stream.

" **Carnwennan** _._ "

A blinding white column of light flashed outwards from the blade.

Bakuda split into two halves.

The darkness surrounding the area disappeared suddenly, while the two halves of Bakuda's body turned black, white light burning them away entirely before they could finish falling to the ground.

As the remains of Bakuda's body was burned away, a fully armoured medieval knight was revealed to the crowd. On the knight's back was a shield, and wrapped around their chest was an ancient sling.

The knight retracted the dagger still glowing with light, and sheathed it at their waist.

O O O


	13. Honour 2-5

**Honour 2.5**

As I sheathed the holy dagger, it was thrumming in approval.

— _Carnwennan: Synchronization 100%. Ritual of Inheritance Complete._

— _Phantasmic Crystallization! Rank Up:_ _ **B**_ _! True Owner Acknowledged:_ [Taylor Hebert]

I felt something click into place, a link between me and the dagger.

In my mind's eye, I saw the Noble Phantasm's status updates. With the increase in Rank, it also felt more powerful. No, powerful wasn't the right word. It felt more _real_ , as if there was a new weight to it, but not in the physical sense.

Its legend had been invoked to complete the Ritual of Inheritance, and so the weight of its legend, its Mystery, grew correspondingly, granting it greater influence on reality.

When the sling of David took me over, I didn't have the sense of mind to appreciate what took place. But now with Carnwennan's ritual complete, I began to grasp the true nature of Synchronization.

Even with the darkness generated by Carnwennan receding, the darkness of evening fell upon us.

But with the effects of Carnwennan receding, I felt utterly drained. Activating the dagger's true power exhausted me in a way that Avalon didn't seem to be capable of healing, or maybe didn't care to heal. Stupid faeries not giving me their blessing.

I felt a little of this back when I used the sling's power, but this was simply on a whole new level. My body seemed _physically_ fine, but…I knew that wouldn't be able to use the dagger like that again for a while. How long, exactly, I didn't know.

The crowd that was once panicked was now utterly silent, staring at the sudden reversal of Bakuda's victory into defeat.

I gazed over the group of civilians and ABB members, still feeling not a little anger, as I remembered how quickly and easily they turned to hatred.

Was it just mob behaviour? Just an isolated group that already had such tendencies to be easily rallied by Bakuda? Or was it simply the ugliness of human nature?

I looked down at the bundle that had fallen out of Purity's arms. It was what looked to be a baby girl covered in burns and shrapnel wounds.

I knelt down and pulled her into my armoured arms.

Even before I checked her for life signs, I knew instinctively that she was gone.

Looking at the unconscious form of Purity, I couldn't help but pity her. I understood at once why she desperately wanted Bakuda to free Othala.

She might have been a villain, but she was also a mother that cared deeply for her baby. And no one could deny that the baby was innocent. She surely didn't deserve this fate today, no matter the crimes of her mother.

The loss of so many innocent lives made my victory over Bakuda feel hollow. I had to wonder if Bakuda was even telling the truth. Did she really have no way to reverse the time stop field?

I never thought that my first day as a knight would turn out this way. I was going to start with stopping unpowered miscreants, gain experience, and slowly work my way into fighting off stronger supervillains and the gangs. I would have built up my arsenal some more, and found allies to help. Maybe I would have joined the Wards or New Wave eventually.

Instead, I was unmasked before I even debuted properly, and I killed a villain on the first day.

Heroes weren't supposed to kill. That was a rule that all Protectorate heroes and other hero teams followed. Very rarely were there kill orders issued, the PRT had explained to me, and there hadn't been one for Bakuda yet.

But when I saw my fellow knights broken and defeated, their spirits calling out for vengeance, mercy could no longer be allowed to this evil witch, and I therefore delivered swift retribution upon her as justice demanded, ending the threat once and for all.

It had been a mistake not to go all out from the beginning, and now my comrades were possibly gone forever. _My_ mistake that led to this.

I would find a way to bring back Armsmaster and Velocity, and everyone else trapped in the time bubble.

I had to.

I gently placed Purity's baby on her chest.

I ignored them and walked towards the ABB member who was still holding the camera.

"This—this is not justice!" I almost choked on the first word as I swept my hand towards the fallen, and the time stop bubble in the distance.

"There is no justice in the suffering of the innocent. There is no justice in torture no matter the victim. There is no justice in the death of heroes who sacrificed themselves to protect this city!" As I spoke my voice gained surety and strength. The words flowed naturally to me, even though I had never been good at public speaking. It had to be the effect of Synchronization with a great hero like King Artoria.

I had the full attention of the crowd of civilians, which was now growing as more people came out of hiding. Many of them now had their phones out filming.

"What happened today was a tragedy. A tragedy borne of hatred and the sick, twisted desires of a madwoman. I have removed the threat of Bakuda, but the consequences of her actions have been devastating. Armsmaster, Velocity, many PRT personnel, and many innocents are now trapped, possibly forever, if we are to believe Bakuda's boasts."

I stopped for a moment to let that sink in.

"We have had enough death today. Don't fall into hatred and continue the cycle of violence. Don't allow more innocents to suffer in the crossfire. Don't _let their sacrifices be in vain!_ "

My hands reached up to my helmet and slowly lifted it. My face was revealed to for all to see as I held my helmet against my side.

There were stunned gasps in the crowd as I was recognized.

"I am Phantasia. Some people have proclaimed me a prophet, a saint, or a messenger of God. They are wrong," I said.

A round of murmurs and whispers broke out.

I prepared to continue—

—and blanked.

I had mentally prepared myself to correct any misunderstandings, but suddenly I realized that I couldn't really explain why I said the things I did before when channeling David without revealing aspects of my power that I _really_ didn't want the public to know.

The silence stretched on awkwardly as the crowd eventually stopped whispering to each other and waited for me.

"I…uhm…"

I could feel my face burning up as I tried to pretend that my silence was intentional and failed miserably.

"I am none of those," I said, stalling, the charisma from Synchronization seeming to leave me as soon I realized I was woefully inadequate compared to the one I drew inspiration from. No amount of finesse at delivering a message could compensate for having no content to deliver.

What exactly was I? Channeling David, I had claimed to have won by the grace of God. But I wasn't even really a believer at this point, knowing that I could make artifacts associated with other divine mythological traditions.

"I'm not so different from all of you. I was just an ordinary girl, growing up in Brockton Bay, living with my parents and going to school, and there was nothing special about me," I finally said.

And that was the truth, wasn't it? Unlike King Artoria, I wasn't descended from royalty. There was no prophecy revealing a great destiny before me.

"Then one day, I suddenly had powers. I don't know why I got powers. It just happened. But because I have powers, I know that I can make a difference. When I saw the E88 beating up innocent people, I stopped them because it was the right thing to do. Just now, I stopped Bakuda for the same reason. Because it was the right thing to do."

The crowd watched me silently.

"Uh…that's all I have to say."

Nobody made a move to leave. I saw a PRT van drive around the corner behind the crowd, coming towards me.

The sound of shifting rocks behind me put me back on alert.

I turned around immediately and saw Oni Lee pushing himself up. Before I could even try to restrain him, his body disappeared into ash.

Alarmed, I looked around and saw Oni Lee at the roof of a nearby building just before that copy also disappeared.

PRT troopers deployed from the van and immediately went to foam Purity before she could also escape.

However, they were too late.

Purity suddenly woke up and light gathered around her form again. She rose into the air just as the foam exploded on her previous position.

She looked around a bit first, then her attention came to rest on me. The PRT troopers began to retreat.

"Where's Bakuda?" Purity asked.

"She's dead. I killed her," I said.

There was a long and tense moment of silence.

"You're the girl that defeated Hookwolf. The one they're calling a prophet," she said.

"I'm not a prophet."

"No, you're not. Just a cape pretending to be something she's not," she said scornfully.

"I didn't pretend to be anything! I never said I was a prophet," I said, annoyed.

"You started this. You killed my baby!" She screamed. "You and your holy war against the E88 caused this! She was innocent!"

My eyes widened. Was that possible?

"What do you mean?"

"Your followers blew up my car with my baby inside!"

I swallowed hard. I didn't think she was lying. There was no reason for it. I could imagine it happening. Some people had decided to commit acts of terrorism in my name. It might not even have been random. Purity, being part of the E88, was probably racist in her civilian identity too. They might have targeted her for that reason, but the victim ended up being her innocent baby.

"They aren't my followers. If I knew I wouldn't have let them do anything like that. I'm sorry," I said.

"I'll make you pay for this!" She shouted, and gathered up more light around her.

I quickly put my helmet back on and unwrapped Hamesh Avanim.

"We don't have to fight here, Purity! Go back and give your baby a proper burial! There doesn't need to be any more death today!"

I didn't want to use it but there wasn't any other choice. Purity was a flier and I couldn't get to her with anything else. Carnwennan could be thrown, but it wouldn't come back to me afterwards.

Though if I activated Carnwennan fully, I could probably kill this Very White Witch pretty easily—

Wait, I couldn't do that! Purity hadn't committed crimes as bad as what Bakuda had done, nor was she an imminent threat to commit anything of the sort. Killing was a last resort for her.

Damn it! I hadn't even fully processed that I'd killed somebody today and Carnwennan was already eager to kill more, even though I didn't even have the metaphysical juice to power it anymore.

"Shut up! I'll take revenge for her first and give _you_ a burial!"

With that, a beam of light shot towards me faster than I could react.

Yet, somehow, my body moved on its own as if by pure instinct and I dodged it.

I had no time to be surprised before another beam came at me, and I dodged it again. I had no time to fulfill the sling's activation conditions, let alone prepare and aim it.

More and more beams of light came at me, and I kept dodging them by a hair's breadth.

What was going on? I was moving and reacting much faster than before. The difference was unreal. I dashed around the battlefield at what had to be several times my previous top speed. And I had been worried that running out of whatever powered Carnwennan's attack might affect my general ability to fight.

Purity let out a scream of frustration and flew at me.

This time I couldn't dodge her, she was even faster than I was and swerved just as I tried to dodge, her fist smashing into me.

My armour was dented from the force of the blow and the wind got knocked out of me as I was sent flying into a building.

This was really bad, despite the physical power up I seemed to have gotten, I was clearly no match for Purity. I really felt like a two trick pony now. If I couldn't fire the sling or activate Carnwennan, I was no good in a fight against a heavy hitter like Purity.

The wall broke and I smashed into another wall before coming to a stop. I groaned and pushed off the rubble that fell on me. I was already thinking about running away, dishonourable as it was, but Carnwennan's passive presence concealment wouldn't work on somebody that was already actively targeting me. It reduced my presence in other people's awareness, but didn't literally make me invisible.

Unfortunately a beam of light finally closed in on me while I was too disoriented to dodge. I called on Carnwennan's power and gathered shadow in front of me in the hopes that it could counter the light beam. I had no idea if the shadow it gathered could be used as a physical defense but it was better than nothing.

It didn't work.

The beam went right through the layer of darkness then through my armour too.

My mouth opened in shock as I clutched at my wound in pain and found empty space.

I didn't have time to react before another punch hit me in the face, this time smashing me down through multiple floors, tons of rubble falling on me.

I struggled to get up, but I couldn't even breathe with the hole through my chest.

I felt Avalon's power flow to the wound, but it was healing at a snail's pace. I thought wounds were all supposed to heal nearly instantly with Avalon?

Why didn't my power come with a better manual?! I was finding out way too many important things about my power in the middle of fighting!

I began to feel lightheaded, and the strength in my muscles was disappearing.

I should've been panicking at this point but for some reason I didn't feel my heartbeat rising like it should have.

Then it hit me. I had no heartbeat.

My heart was gone.

The whole building shook violently, and there was a loud creaking sound.

I watched in horror as the ceiling above me cracked further and the support pillars broke apart, the whole building coming down on me.

And then there was only darkness.

O O O

 _Noble Phantasms and Forged Artifacts Information Sheet Updated._

O O O


	14. Interlude 2-x

**Interlude 2.x (Purity, Emma, Danny, Artoria)**

Purity floated high and still in the air, watching the crumbling building. The target of her anger was dead and buried, but she felt no satisfaction.

Where would she go from here?

She left the Empire and Kaiser for Aster. She patrolled the streets to make them safe for Aster. Her baby was her everything.

And today all of it amounted to nothing.

The memories replayed themselves over and over in her mind.

 _She loaded up the groceries, then checked that Aster was properly secured to the safety seat before driving out of the parking lot. Her radio turned on._

"…defeated Hookwolf with nothing but a sling…"

 _She listened with curiosity as she moved along slowly in the traffic._

"…ABB spotted near anti-E88 protesters…"

 _As one truck past the intersection, it swerved dangerously when somebody wearing a red and green jacket jaywalking at the lights shouted something inaudible._

 _But the truck was brought under control and continued onwards smoothly._

 _She paid it no more attention and prepared to turn—_

— _glass shattered as the building at the corner was annihilated by a fiery explosion, the truck spun and smashed onto the opposite side of the street, smaller cars nearby were flipped into the air and crashed down, bodies that didn't wear their seat belts flew out of windows and landing dead on the street bent in all the wrong ways_ —

 _Kayden woke up with a groan. She struggled to move and found herself trapped inside her own car, which was upside down and crushing her as she was lying halfway out of the window._

 _As soon as the delirium from pain receded, her mind went to the baby still trapped in the back of her car._

 _She tried to turn around and see what happened, but she couldn't see anything inside the car, it being mostly flattened to the ground._

" _A-Aster…!"_

 _She struggled to get out from the weight crushing her, but she didn't have anywhere near the strength for it. She thought about blasting it all away for only a second before realizing that any flying debris or further shock to the car would endanger her baby even more._

 _The seconds passed and turned into minutes._

" _Someone…! Please…help!"_

 _She made no progress on getting out, and the blood loss was already making her light headed._

 _Sirens were sounding in the distance._

 _Then she caught a glimpse of blood leaking out of where the backdoor would have been before getting crushed as it smashed into the ground. Her eyes widened._

" _No! NO!" She screamed and clawed at the air towards the back of her car._

 _But all she did was rip her skin more where it met the metal frame and increasing the severity of her own wounds._

 _The minutes continued to pass by, and the sirens, instead of getting closer, were getting farther away, the sound dimming._

"… _As…ter…"_

 _A long forgotten feeling of helplessness held her in its iron grip. Just like all those years ago, when she was trapped in a car and nobody came to help her. Except this time, she wasn't starving and her light couldn't solve the problem by feeding her._

 _Her eyes watched the blood flow onto the cement. It was bright and reflective and she could see_ two rotating crystalline monoliths of spiral mirrors—

 _When she came to, her powers had changed. The light gave her new strength, and she lifted the car, pulling Aster from the wreckage._

 _She saw the bloody form of her baby and immediately flew away to where she knew Kaiser would be. Medhall._

 _She shot up the side of the building and directly to Max's office. Through the windows she saw that it was empty._

 _Then she flew around and navigated to an isolated section of the Medhall campus, then smashed through the heavily secured doors to a windowless building._

 _Inside, she found Kaiser, Krieg, Fenja, Menja, and Alabaster, holding a meeting, in full costume._

 _The gathered E88 capes turned to see her._

 _The light on her dimmed until her form, and what she carried with her became visible._

" _Kaiser. I need Othala. Now."_

 _Kaiser was uncharacteristically silent, and didn't greet her._

 _He walked over slowly, focused on Aster in her arms, a hand reaching out._

" _What…is this…?"_

" _Othala, where is she?!" Purity demanded again, more forcefully. "There's no time to waste!"_

 _Her words shook Kaiser out of a stupor, and he answered, "I already summoned her for this meeting, but we lost contact with her and Victor a few minutes ago._ "

" _Then where was she when you last managed to contact her?_ "

" _Purity, you need to calm down. Othala isn't capable of healing…injuries…of this nature._ "

" _I have to try! Where was she?_ "

 _Kaiser took a deep breath and sighed. "They were near the docks. But, you might have better luck with Panacea. She was seen setting up an emergency medical camp near Bernard and Atkinson._ "

 _She nodded and turned._

" _Wait, Kayden."_

 _She gave him another glance._

" _Who did this?"_

 _She thought of the news she heard on the radio, then the jaywalker wearing a red and green jacket. It was obvious, in hindsight._

" _ABB."_

 _Then she turned around and prepared to fly again. Behind her, she heard Kaiser's voice._

" _They killed my daughter," he said quietly, but it echoed in the room._

" _Bastards!" "We will make them pay!" "No mercy!" A series of supporting cries resounded._

That's right. She wasn't done yet.

Not until every ABB was dead.

She looked back down the tense PRT troopers who were slowly backing away and attempting to evacuate onlookers.

She flew down and picked up the corpse of her baby, paying them no more heed.

First she would give Aster a proper burial, then she would finish her campaign of the last year, and eradicate the yellow menace led by Lung.

O O O

"Something's wrong! What's happening?" The medics in the emergency room were alarmed at the readings they were getting.

"She's turning red!"

"These temperatures are impossible! This is way beyond a fever!"

"I think her blood is _boiling_!"

"No, it's almost as if, it's trying to escape from her body!"

O O O

Emma screamed continuously and writhed on the ground as it felt like she was being burned alive over and over again.

" _Shut up already, stupid banshee!_ " A melodious voice thundered, water splashed over her, and the pain began to recede.

The teen continued to whimper pitifully for several more minutes until she regained her bearings and struggled to sit upright.

She looked for the voice that helped her, and in that direction she saw a calm blue lake. She was just at its edge, on the grassy shore.

Flickers of light were dancing in the air. They were blurry figures that had what seemed like translucent fluttering wings about the size of a cellphone each.

She then looked around and saw nothing but trees, flowers, and grass.

"Where am I?" She asked out loud, wondering how she got here all of a sudden. "What happened?" The last thing she remembered was dying slowly at Taylor's house before Taylor gave her a blood transfusion.

The water rippled, and locks of green hair were the first to emerge. What followed after was a naked girl, covered only by rolling streams of water and mist, with the most perfect figure and flawless skin that she had ever seen, and a face of such beauty that men could start wars over it.

Emma's own countenance paled in comparison, and her dazed eyes gave away her stupor.

The girl sighed and gestured, vapour blasted onto Emma's face to get her attention.

Emma yelped and wiped the water from her eyes to see that the unearthly beauty in front of her had crossed her arms and was looking unimpressed.

" _Why are you still here?_ _You can't be here,_ " she said in a voice that could be mistaken for song.

"T-thank you, for helping me. And I'm sorry but I don't know how I got here or where I should go. What is this place?"

" _This is the land of the Fae. You have something that doesn't belong to you...something of the Fae. That's how you got here. No other way, since the Reverse Side was sealed off, unless…well, you're obviously not._ "

"The Fae? Reverse Side?" Emma was at a loss.

" _Can't you tell? I'm a faerie. Look how beautiful I am, not like you ugly humans,"_ she said, then twirled around. She had an annoyed expression when Emma appeared to be stupefied from her natural glamour again. Then she moved up closer to Emma. " _Well, you aren't too bad for a human, but still."_

"A fairy? You mean, Glaistig Uaine was right?!" Emma blurted out.

" _Green Maiden? Didn't she—_ " The fairy girl asked with a confused look. " _Oh I know! You must mean somebody from the Present, so I can search it up in the new Internet Side of the World!"_

Then she made a gesture and water floated up and the girl shuffled over to sit beside Emma while the water formed a rectangular panel in front of them.

Then what looked like a modern browser appeared on the water, and with a few more gestures the fairy girl navigated to a search engine. Glaistg Uaine was searched, and the PHO wiki entry for her came up as the first result.

Emma watched flabbergasted. "I'm dreaming…fairies on the internet…"

" _Hey, no way! Those dumb aliens aren't fae! This girl is an idiot!_ " The self-proclaimed faerie looked enraged as she read through the wiki entry describing Glaistig Uaine.

" _And what a pretentious name. Faerie Queen? Yeah right! No one is my queen! Not anymore, anyway. The Fae are beautiful and free, she's not even close to be being beautiful enough to be a queen! If there was a queen, she should be the beautiful most among us, right?"_ She nudged Emma to agree with her. " _She's like, a 7, maybe an 8 at most._ "

Emma looked at the picture on the wiki entry and hesitated. Glaistig Uaine looked like she was twelve years old. That was too young to be giving any kind of serious rating. She just didn't have the figure yet.

"She needs to grow up and out a bit more," said Emma.

" _Here, look, this is what she looks like if you can see past her glamour,_ " said the faerie girl, and with a wave more water came out of the lake and quickly condensed into a perfect replica of Glaistig Uaine, but a few years older, maybe around seventeen or so. " _What do you think? 7, right?_ _You would look better than her at the same age._ " Then another water-replica formed, this time of a hypothetical Emma two years older.

The teen model scrutinized her future looks, and nodded satisfied. "I think you're right. You have good sense for these things!"

" _Of course I do, I'm a faerie! And you're pretty decent for a human,"_ The faerie girl said happily. Then her expression soured. " _Too bad you're a human. You can't be here…_ "

"Uh? You said that before. Do you know how I can get back to Earth Bet?"

The faerie girl looked suspiciously at Emma.

" _Not telling you._ "

"What? Why? Didn't you say I can't be here?"

" _So what? You're already here anyways, why don't you just stay with me? I'm SO bor~ed. It's been centuries since I last talked to a human._ "

"C-centuries?!" Emma's face grew horrified. It was just like the old stories. Fairies whisked children away and nobody ever saw them again.

" _Come on, this Internet Side of the World was created by humans, right? I heard from other fae that there are lots of beautiful pictures on there! I want to see beautiful things. Since you're a human, you can show me!"_

"I-I really n-need to get back, please!"

" _Look, when I search for beautiful things, it shows a bunch of weird stuff. Like here, this picture has a caption that says 'The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched, they must be felt with the heart'. How does that make any sense? You seem to get what beautiful means, you can help me figure this out! I think I'm searching wrong. Maybe it has to do with this 'SafeSearch' filter?_ "

Emma watched helplessly as the vain faerie girl ignored her and started fiddling with the search settings.

 _OOO_

"I am a terrible father. I didn't know anything about her problems at school until they stuffed her in a locker to die and the school called me. And when they called her crazy put her in the psych ward for a week, I believed them like a fucking tool!" His voice echoed on the stained glass walls, and his tears were streaming down endlessly as he kneeled on the mat.

"The Lord hears you, my son. Your sins are many, but He will forgive all. You have taken a great step today, to confess and repent," a kind voice said. Danny felt a gentle pat on his head.

"But Father Marcel, what should I do? How can I face her now? I should have been the one to protect her, to show her strength and courage. But she is so much stronger than me. She doesn't need me anymore, if God is guiding her now."

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres," said Marcel.

"I don't understand, Father, are you saying that Taylor would still love me, even after I've failed her?"

"Do _you_ love _her_ , Daniel Hebert?"

"Y-yes. I do."

"My son, if you truly love your daughter, you will be patient and persevere, and you will not be self-seeking, or require her love in return. But you may yet find in time, that she needs you more than you know. A father's love cannot be simply replaced. Trust in God, let your love for her give you strength, and you will surely find the right path forward."

Danny blinked through the tears to see the smiling face of the old priest.

"Thank you, Father Marcel. I understand. I will be patient and persevere. I will love her always and support her however I can."

"Good, good. I will pray for your success."

O O O

"Was this really necessary?" Artoria asked through gritted teeth.

" _Of course. She circumvented the rules. Therefore she must be punished_ ," said the figure lying calmly on the water. Filament-like wings shimmered underneath the surface, creating ripples around her. It was a woman with green and blue hair, of an unearthly beauty not unlike the faerie girl that appeared before Emma.

There was a large circular panel of water, through which the horrified expression of Taylor could be seen as the building tumbled down on her.

Artoria clenched her fists as the panel faded to black, debris covering the girl with a hole in her chest that wasn't healing.

" _But you knew that already, didn't you, dishonored king?_ "

One time. One time she could not accept the outcome of a duel, in a moment of weakness she took her sword in hand again, and it shattered. As if that single failure outweighed everything else she did.

She did not dignify Viviane with a response. The Fae were unreasonable, inhuman creatures. Even so, they were sentient. Caliburn was just a mindless sword. It was not proper to compare their respective "rules" the way Viviane related them.

But she understood. Merlin had warned her about taking Excalibur and Avalon from the Faerie Lady of the Lake, and the conditions she had to follow.

That was the whole reason she insisted that Sir Bedivere return Excalibur to the lake after the disastrous battle of Camlann.

She had listened to Sir Bedivere plead with her not to throw away the mighty sword that could determine the fate of all Britain—even the World—and as a King that loved her people, how could she not know its value?

Nevertheless, thrice she commanded him until he did as told and tossed it back into the lake.

She did not throw it away because she _wanted_ her kingdom to lose such a powerful asset.

No, she didn't want that at all, but she had no choice—lest her people suffer even more grievous consequences from reneging on her deal.

The Fae did not care for the plight of her people—for the plight of humanity, who were little more than toys for their amusement.

"And if she should die from this? She is the only one," said Artoria, after a while.

" _Then another would be chosen,_ " Viviane said.

"Were it possible to so easily empower another, why did she not do so immediately after my demise, instead allowing two more of them to approach, and even land?"

" _The Age of Gods was destined to come to an end, even without their arrival. You are not so special, either, Chosen One. She simply had no more need of one like you._ "

"What nonsense. You don't speak for her."

" _Hm. I know her well enough, better than you._ "

"Yet even you cannot overcome the barrier between the Reverse and the Present. You have not heard her will for over a millennium. You may think to know her, but it seems that she has tired of you."

A rare expression of anger found its way to Viviane's face, and the lake's calm waters shook chaotically.

" _That was_ not _her doing!_ "

"So you console yourself."

" _Enough. What do you hope to accomplish by angering me?_ "

"You are allowing pride to blind you. If Taylor dies because you obnoxiously insist on subjecting her to misguided punishment, we may yet lose our only hope."

" _This is not a decision I made alone, but the collective decision of all Fae. I cannot rescind it._ "

"But you have the influence to appeal it, and persuade your brethren. Do not try to deny this. If you did not, you would not have been the one to meet me back then, nor would Merlin have simply allowed you to trap him, Lady Nimue, daughter of Dyane, Queen of the Fae."

" _You are the one speaking nonsense, now, Arthur, son of Uther. There is no Faerie Queen."_

"You do not deny being the one to trap my bewitched master."

" _And if I did? He knew his fate and met it willingly._ "

"He was humble and did his part for the good of all, unlike you. Perhaps if you hadn't entrapped him, and I had his counsel and Magic at my side during the battle against the first one, we would not all have suffered this fate, powerlessly waiting for the end of days here." _And perhaps I would not have met my own end at Camlann either,_ she inwardly added.

Viviane, or Nimue, stared coldly at Artoria. " _You have made your point."_

Then she retreated into the lake and disappeared from sight.

Artoria closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she was back in the meadow with Caliburn. As she expected, Taylor lay next to it on the ground, as if peacefully asleep, no sign of her injuries. That didn't mean she wasn't dying.

The fact that her spirit here wasn't conscious was clear indication that something was terribly wrong.

She walked over to Taylor and sighed.

A feeling of nostalgia came over her as her eyes caught the cracks on Caliburn. The sword that was the crystallization of her ideals. Before she betrayed them that fateful duel, and she made a deal with the World to get another chance, another sword, that in the end, was just another fleeting dream.

She touched the handle and pulled.

No movement at all.

She sat down and waited, just as she has been waiting eternally, in the Land of the Eternal Spring, in the Reverse Side of the World.

O O O


End file.
